![\"Yeats1\"](\"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/rring\/files\/2013\/10\/Yeats1.jpg\")
<\/a>What I found at the Watkinson was the book of poems The Tower<\/i> by W.B. Yeats that was published in 1928. The book itself is a fascinating and intriguing part of history.\u00a0 The outside paper fold that encompasses the hard-cover book is a forest green with gold-like writing, and slightly torn edges.\u00a0 The paper of the book also caught my attention.\u00a0 It \u00a0is a thicker material, with a rough texture that suggests it was specifically chosen.\u00a0 The pages are slightly yellow with worn edges.\u00a0 However, the original version may have had irregular edges.\u00a0 It is hard to tell whether or not this is due to aging or whether it is simply the type of paper that was chosen for a specific effect.\u00a0 Either way, it set a different tone for reading these poems.\u00a0 I had to handle each page with care, and frankly liked touching the paper (although I did refrain from excess touching to preserve the book!).\u00a0 The text on the pages was quite a change from the common font size 10 in cheaper paper-backs – the text was perhaps a font size 14-16 with about 2 inch margins\u00a0 surrounding the thick letters, \u00a0which to my pleasure reminded me of a children’s story (and smiling I said to myself ‘Oh I would love to read a W.B. Yeats’ children’s book!’).<\/p>\nOpening the book and looking at the cover page, there in delicately pressed pencil, was Yeats’ signature,\u00a0 (which was confirmed to be legitimate).\u00a0 Looking at the signature, I wondered if he had always had the same style of if he changed his signature to just his initials and last name in order to better suite his life as a poet.<\/p>\n
In the back of the book were ‘Notes’ which Yeats added to give a small insight into some of his poems.<\/p>\n
For his poem ‘The Tower’ he provides more notes.\u00a0 In the poem, he talks a great deal about certain characters, and here he expands on who these people are – showing that these people are 3-D in his mind and that he puts immense amounts of thought into his poems.\u00a0 Sometimes when I read poetry, even when I read some of Yeats, I become a bit skeptical: that as I am trying to find meaning in the poem, the joke is really on me – the author merely created the illusion of hidden meaning (perhaps that is also an art form?) But \u00a0reading these notes gives me a sense of security that Yeats had a vision and a true back story for his poems: “The persons mentioned are associated by legend, story and tradition with the neighbourhood of Thoor Ballyllee or Ballylee Castle, where the poem was written” (105).\u00a0 I only wish he could have drawn a picture of this location, but alas the poem with suffice.<\/p>\n<\/a>I found his notes on the poem ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ to be particularly humorous.\u00a0 Specifically regarding stanza IV: \u00a0“I have read somewhere that in the Emperor’s palace at Byzantium was a tree made of gold and silver, and artificial birds that sang” (105).\u00a0 After reading this, I chuckled – of all the notes he could have given the reader about this poem, he chose to say this.\u00a0 It is such a simple and matter of fact statement that at first it offers little.\u00a0 However, I considered this: Yeats is a man who hears about small snippets of marvelous things and incorporates them into his poems – or better, into the world he creates in his poems.<\/p>\n