Summary of Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad has introduced here the deep and dark forest of Congo. In this setting, people are also dark. There is not the slightest touch of civilization. The full primitiveness is there. Even the white people who have gone there to civilize that area have also become primitive in this dark setting as if the white people have lost their civilized value when they are placed in the dark and with the dark. This very dark setting can again be categorized into two steps as the geography is concerned. One is the outer station and the other is the inner station. Both the place are dark, but the inner is darker than the outer one darker in two. According to the depth of the jungle and also according to the evil acts.

The Much darker action is there in the inner station than that of the outer the darker the setting, the viler the theme in the outer station. Marlow needs rivets to the ship but didn't get a single. He is told by the station in charge that there is no rivet in the station, where there are too many. Moreover, the conspiring conversation that Marlow hears in the dark night symbolically represents the evil of the time and of the place. Everything is like a muddle there. And, in the inner station, there is much more corruption and greed for wealth and power.

It is the inner station wherever individual like Kurtz being announced as associate nursing ivory supply agent rejects to provide the expensive ivories and starts his own ivory business. Not only that, but he also starts to practice his evil power over the natives. He becomes so powerful over the natives that he is almost a god to them. And, I the most striking thing is his main motto for going to the Dark Continent was to civilize the area, but in spite of doing so, he himself has turned into a primitiveness person. No doubt, it is a unique style to produce such a theme of primitiveness with evil power, greed, and corruption in such a dark area. If the total area is the body of darkness, the inner station is the “Heart ” the centre of all the evils that “Darkness ” associate.

In Heart of Darkness, the jungle or the forest has been presented as a matter of the profound dark setting. The jungle and all that it signifies in this novella is a symbol of evil, I the major thematic issues. The jungle has been described as “lurking death ”profound darkness and evil. The vegetation imagery means much more than female menace, it means the truth the darkness, the evil, the death, which lies with us, which we must recognize in order to be truly alive.

The jungle, here, is like a cage that society has made for Kurtz. Cannibalism and sexual perversion exist in the jungle, and behind every bush, death is lurking. This deep jungle setting also indicates the mystery of human life, which remains as the unfolded riddle to us. We understand that Kurtz is staying in the inner station, in the dark centre, only because of the fact that he is greedy for wealth and power.

But one general issue also pinches our mind. Example being originated and brought up in a materially civilized society. Kurtz, in his early life, was supposed to get the material comfort, which now, he is deprived of. the weather for which he stays in the dark African forest cannot give him any sort of material comfort and security. Then, whey is he staying here in the deep jungle with the uncivilized native Africans? Is it mainly because of the power that he can practice here? Or, is there something else behind the surface facts?

He is so greedy that even after his death, his mouth remains open-open for hunger open to greed. Why does a man become so? all these are unanswered questions. And, these are the mysteries of life in the HEART OF DARKNESS. We, the readers, are simply amazed to get a such a devilish thematic effect in such a mysterious setting In fact, in Heart of Darkness, darkness its heart give an idea, which associates and relates the themes with the symbolic aspects of the difference of the story.

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Role of the Sea in the Play Riders to the Sea by John Millington Synge

  John Millington Synge, an Irish Literary Renaissance playwright, has always used nature as background, character and symbol in his plays. Nature is the protagonist or antagonist in many of his plays specially in Riders To The Sea where nature fills the minds of the characters and mounds their actions, even their moods and fate. The play is dominated by fate in the shape of sea. In the play we find that the sea is that which provides a living for the characters of the small cottages. At the same time it is also that which causes their sufferings.

 In Riders to the Sea, the sea represents fate. The sea is a great factor in the life of the people of Aran Islands. It is the source of their living. Moreover, the sea gives them passage to the markets in the mainland where they go to buy or sell things. There is no alternative for them but to ride the sea to maintain their family's existence. But at the same time the sea devours the men-folk as they go out for earning their living. The men of the family, past and present, were and are trapped in a sense. The sea is the bringer of suffering and tragedy. They are, in fact, in a no-win situation. They must go to the sea to survive economically. But death on the sea is so common that all of Maurya's sons, as well as her husband and father-in -law are killed on it. Thus the sea plays the role of both the giver and the taker. The sea provides living for them. At the same time acts as a hungry demon devouring the humans that come in its way.

 

The sea is indeed the most impressive character in the play. It's unseen presence fills the mind of both the characters and the audience. As a background, as a living character, as a force of nature, as an agent of destiny, as a villain, the sea plays a great role throughout the play. At present world, man has been trying to dominate the sea. He is successful in colonizing the sea to a specific extent. But there was once a time when the sea controlled man's life. The sea was then a more powerful enemy than it is now.

 

The sea is also invested with supernatural suggestions. It is the archetypal symbol of fate. The riders are men who are engulfed by the dark, mysterious and inscrutable fate. The sea and humanity are mysteriously interlocked. It has taken a heavy toll of eight lives of the poor family of Maurya. When her last son is drowned, she is relieved at the thought that -

''There isn't anything more the sea can do to me.''

This is the heart rending sorrow of the bereaved mother.

 

Some critics consider the sea as the villain of Maurya's life causing the tragedy of her life. But it would be wrong to consider the sea as the villain because being a powerful element of nature, it is governed by its own moods like anything else in nature. Besides, the sea provides livelihood to people as it does to Maurya's family too. We can say that Maurya was fated to suffer at the hands of sea.

 

In Riders To The Sea, Maurya's family members fall victim to the fury of the sea. But it was their fate to be caught up in a tempest on the all on a sudden and be killed. The old mother Maurya who has had the mortifying experience of seeing all male members of her family getting drowned into the sea, tries her best to dissuade her only surviving son Bartley from crossing over the sea. Maurya gets the signal of Bartley's death. She says-

''I've seen the fearfullest thing any person has since the day Bride Dara seen the dead man with the child in his arms.''

Bartley has to set sail over the sea to earn their bread. Mother's words are futile to prevent Bartley from going to sea. Cathleen, the practical-minded girl knows and she says-  

''It is the life of a young man to be going on the sea.''                               

Barley's life could be saved if he had listened to his mother's advice and if he had not gone to the Galway fair. He decides to go to the fair to sell the horses because he thinks that it is his duty to look after the family as there is no other male member alive in the family. So it is the necessity of the family for which Bartley feels compelled to go to the sea. So it is not the fault of the sea for which Bartley died.

 

Thus the sea is the powerful force which causes endless tragedy. Synge brings the sea in place of fate and at the same time he juxtaposes the sea with fate. The sea becomes the Nemesis, against whom the doomed mankind must fight. And through the fight man attains dignity. The sea is the agent of destiny, through which Maurya learns the wisdom and the truth. The tidings of the sea turn the tidings of the life of Maurya and her two daughters. She suffers, she experiences and she learns from the sea. The ruthless and cruel hand of Maurya's fate forcibly led Bartley to his death to complete her tragedy. Thus it is the inevitability of fate which in the shape of sea dominates the action of the play.

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Crime and Punishment: full book summary

Dostoevsky (1821-1881) is the most influential and pragmatic novelist of the 19th century Russia. He has occupied a vast area in the field of literature by writing some unique and universal creations. But Dostoevsky is very popular and commonly well-known to us for his masterpiece Crime and Punishment. In this particular novel, he has tried his best to reflect the true picture of Russia focusing on various characters of the novel. Certainly, in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Raskolnicov is the most discussed heroic character i.e. it is a hero-dominated novel.

At the very beginning of the novel, we come to see that Raskolnicov has recently completed his university education and he was highly optimistic to get a good job after his graduation. He is looking for a job but he is failure to manage a job. Because of his unemployment, he is mentally very depressed and disappointed. He blames the social system of Russia because he thinks that corruption, misdeed, tyranny, persecution, class distinction, the difference between the rich and the poor, social injustice and so on have covered the whole range of the society.

Raskolnicov as a hero wants to translate his dream into reality by utilizing his educational skills. He dreams a lot when he studies at university. But when he completed his graduation, he found a big difference between dreams and reality. The mother and sister of Raskolnicov also expected a lot that he will drive the wheel of the family. Rascolnicov is suffering from an inferiority complex because of his inability to help his family members. Truly speaking, Raskolnicov is greatly influenced by the philosophy of Napoleon and he wants to be a superhero by doing extraordinary activities. He played a vital role to change the structure of society by eradicating corruption. So we can comment that Raskolnicov is not a coward rather we cannot but praise his heroic deed.

Dounia, the sister of Raskolnicov, is working in an office where Sidrigailov is the boss or master of Dounia. Dounia feels the unemployment problem of her brother Raskolnicov very deeply. She is very sensible, responsible and dutiful to her brother and mother. She possesses enchanting and mind-blowing beauty. Sidrigailov has fallen in love with the beauty and responsibility of Dounia. He proposes her to marry but she refuses and reacts very strongly. If we want to explain the profundity of his love, it becomes clear to us that he is very genuine and true to love. Because of the refusal of Dounia, he has ultimately committed suicide.

There is another character in this novel Crime and Punishment whose name is Razumikhin. He is very handsome, rich and responsive who also desires to get positive response from Dounia in the field of love. Luzhin is another competitor of love who wishes to win the heart of Dounia. But Dounia has refused his proposal because of his having lose character. Razumikhin is the worthiest person to the eyes of Dounia. That's why, she wants to keep up the request of Razumikhin by giving an important condition. The condition is that he has to provide a big amount of money for the business of her brother Raskolnicov. Razumikhin promptly accepted the proposal of Dounia. But when Raskolnicov has got this information, he bitterly criticizes his sister.

Raskolnicov, the protagonist of the novel, is so depressed and broken-hearted that he wants to change the structure of the society by doing something, even by killing somebody. In the city of St. Petersburg, there is an old lady who is called the pawnbroker. Actually, she would provide money to the people with high interest. Raskolnicov thinks that this old lady is a great obstacle in the way of the progress and the development of the society. He has decided to kill that old lady to remove the curse of the society.

When he was going to the house of that old lady to kill her, he was suffering from indecision. So he decided to come back home. On the way of returning home, he stopped in a tavern where he met Marmeladov, a drunker and a wretched man. Marmeladov expressed his grief to Raskolnicov that he has a sickly wife and a daughter named Sonia who is forced to take the profession of prostitution for maintaining the family. After long days, once Raskolnicov heard that Marmeladov was run over by a carriage.

Raskolnicov, who is determine to kill the pawnbroker, is informed that the old lady is alone in house. According to the preplan, he has fired and killed that old lady along with her step sister. So, we have come to see that Raskolnicov has become a murderer by killing two ladies at a time The police is looking for Raskolnicov and he has seen his old photograph in the daily newspaper as a killer.

By killing this lady, he has invited his own catastrophe and tragic doom because crime does not allow anybody to escape from punishment. As he has committed crime, punishment is a must. Truly speaking, Raskolnicov is now in a great tension not only for himself but also for the family members. Now he is playing the role of a fugitive. Porfiry, an investigation officer, tricks Raskolnicov by saying that he was at that apartment when Raskolnicov murdered that old lady along with her step sister and forces to confess his guilt.

Raskolnicov has taken shelter in a brothel where the heroine Sonia lives as a prostitute. Sonia invites him to stay in her room. Raskolnicov has narrated the whole incident of his life to Sonia. Simultaneously, Sonia expresses her grief with Raskolnicov. Both of them are the victims of the circumstances because they have committed crime only for poverty, nothing else. Sonia comes to know the fact of the hero. When she wanted to know the cause of murdering, Raskolnicov says:

"No, Sonia, I was not hungry. I certainly wanted to help my mother and sister."

He again says:

"I wanted to become Napoleon, that's why I killed her."

He says-

"Did I murder the old woman? I murdered myself, not her."

After hearing the life story of Raskolnicov, Sonia consoles him in this way:

"There is no one- no one in the whole world now so unhappy as you."

He requests her:-

"Then you won't leave me, Sonia."

Sonia says:-

"No, no, never, nowhere-I will follow you. I will follow you everywhere."

Sonia has advised Raskolnicov to confess his guilt in the following way:

"I am a murderer! Then God will send you life again. Suffer and expiate your sin by it."

Sonia has advised Raskolnicov to surrender himself to the police but Raskolnicov wants to stay there without surrendering himself. But Sonia again and again requests him to obey the law of the country by surrendering. She continuously urges him to confess the guilt to the police.

For the continuous request of Sonia, Raskolnicov decides to surrender to the police. He wants to make a purgatorial journey of salvation. Because of his previous good deeds, he wasn't given death sentenced. The decision of the court was that he would have to go to Siberia and have to work hard for 8 years. Sonia was accompanied by the hero to go to Siberia's prison. The hero bowed down his head and kissed the feet of Sonia but he says:

"I didn't bow down to you. I bowed down to all suffering humanity,"

The hero further says:

"I have abandoned my family today, my mother and sister. I have only you. Let us go together. I've come to you. We're both accused. Let us go our way together."

Raskolnicov says:-

"I didn't kill a human being but a principle."

Sonia blames him that he is a hallow man having no spiritual fertility. She says:

"You have turned away from God and God has smitten you."

The Raskolnicov hopelessly answers:-

"Perhaps there is no God."

Raskolnicov thinks that he has got punishment both mentally and physically. Actually, here we can compare Raskolnicov with King Lear of William Shakespeare's King Lear. King Lear also suffers for his wrong decision to give his kingdom among his two daughters depriving Cordelia, the youngest one, from his property. He has suffered more than he committed crime and at the end he realized his fault and we see the purgation of his soul. Similarly, Raskolnicov has ultimately realized his fault and he thinks that as he has committed crime, punishment is a must. He has to penance.

Raskolnicov and Sonia started their purgatorial journey on foot to Siberia because they think that if they go there on foot, the intensity of the crime will reduce with the excretion of sweat. The hero consoles himself that though he is punished, he has done something good for the society. He has broken the long cherished convention.

Eventually, we can comment that Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is a psychological novel where we come to see the mental conflict of the hero Raskolnicov. He suffers throughout the novel from mental anxiety for his wretched condition of the society. He committed crime because of his depression of unemployment, nothing else.

 

Prepared by:

Name: Mehedi Hasan

Batch no: 28.

Roll no: 33

Department of English

Dhaka International University

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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM by William Shakespeare Summary

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays,  sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others

PLOT SUMMARY 

Theseus, duke of Athens, after conquering the warrior Amazons in battle, is in turn conquered by the charms of their queen, Hippolyta, and they are now planning to marry. To speed the time until their wedding night, he orders amusements to be staged. In a spirit of loyalty, Bottom the weaver and other tradesmen decide to prepare a play for the duke and his bride.

The preparations are interrupted by Egeus, an Athenian, who brings his daughter, Hermia, and her two suitors before Theseus, entreating him to command Hermia to wed Demetrius. Hermia pleads to be allowed to marry the other suitor, the one she loves-Lysander. The duke orders her to obey her father under penalty of death or confinement in a convent. Hermia and Lysander bewail the harsh decree and secretly agree to meet in a wood nearby and flee to another country. They tell their plans to Helena, a jilted sweetheart of Demetrius, and she, to win back his love, goes straightway to inform him of the plan.

Meanwhile, in the forest, the fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania are at odds. In spite, Oberon bids Puck procure a love-juice to pour upon Titania's eyelids when she is asleep, in order that she may love the first thing her waking eyes behold. Just then, Oberon sees Demetrius, who has sought out the trysting-place of Lysander and Hermia only to meet Helena, much to his distaste. The lady's distress at her lover's coldness softens the heart of Oberon, who bids Puck touch Demetrius's eyes also with the love-juice, for Helena's sake.

Meanwhile, Lysander and Hermia arrive, and Puck in error anoints Lysander's instead of Demetrius's eyes, so that Lysander, happening to awake just as the neglected Helena wanders by, falls in love with her-and abandons Hermia.

The same enchanted spot in the forest happens to be the place selected by Bottom and company for the final rehearsal of their play. The roguish Puck passes that way while they are rehearsing, and mischievously and magically crowns Bottom with an ass's head, whereupon the other players disperse terror-stricken. Then he brings Bottom to Titania; and, when she awakens, she gazes first upon the human-turned-to-an-ass and falls in love.

Meantime, the four lovers are greatly bewildered. Oberon finds that Puck has anointed the eyes of Lysander instead of those of Demetrius, so Oberon anoints Demetrius's eyes with another potion which breaks the spell. When Demetrius awakes, he sees his neglected Helena being wooed by Lysander. His own love for her returns, and he is ready to fight Lysander. Helena deems them both to he mocking her, and Hermia is dazed by the turn of affairs. The fairies interpose and prevent conflict by causing the four to wander about in the dark until they are tired and fall asleep. Puck repairs the blunder by anointing Lysander's eyes, in order to dispel the illusion caused by the love-juice. Thus, when they awake, all will be in order: Lysander will love Hermia, and Demetrius will love Helena.

Titania woos Bottom until Oberon, whose anger has abated, removes the spell from her eyes. Bottom is restored to his natural form, and he rejoins his comrades in Athens. Theseus, on an early morning hunting trip in the forest, discovers the four lovers. Explanations, follow; the duke relents and bestows Helena upon Demetrius and Hermia upon Lysander.

A wedding-feast for three couples instead of one only is spread in Duke Theseus's place. Bottom's players come to this feast to present the “comic” tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe, which is performed in wondrous and hilarious fashion. After the company retires for the night, the fairies dance through the corridors on a mission of blessing and goodwill for the three wedded pairs.

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Is Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre a feminist novel?

Feminism advocates that social, political, and all other rights should be equal between men and women. Bronte's Jane Eyrediscusses many of the struggles and prejudices that nineteenth century middle-class women faced. All rights were not equal between men and women at that time, and Jane's greatest desire is to have a family and to feel accepted and loved. This does not necessarily mean that the novel is not feminist, but the main character's goal...

Feminism advocates that social, political, and all other rights should be equal between men and women. Bronte's Jane Eyre discusses many of the struggles and prejudices that nineteenth century middle-class women faced. All rights were not equal between men and women at that time, and Jane's greatest desire is to have a family and to feel accepted and loved. This does not necessarily mean that the novel is not feminist, but the main character's goal is not to change the legal and political world in order to gain equal rights for women. However, by the end of the story, she does not settle for anything less than the most equal relationship and living circumstances possible for the time period. And at the time, it must have seemed pure fantasy for a governess to acquire her own money and marry higher than her social class. 

 Erica Jong's introduction in the Signet Classic edition provides great insight into how Jane Eyre could be considered a feminist novel by saying the following: 

 "And indeed she cannot marry Rochester until he knows he is as dependent on her as she is on him. Their odysseys have equalized them: Jane has become an independent woman and Rochester has been cured of entitlement. Only thus can a woman and man become equals in a patriarchal society" (ix).

 Bronte portrays Jane as a traditional woman who wants a husband and family while also maintaining her value as an individual in her own right. Many women today want the same things--to have a family and career. However, even though Jane isn't seeking social or political equality, she does find equality in marriage. This could be a big part of the message that Bronte wanted to convey, which would mean that her desired results would have, in fact, been one of the first feminist novels. 

 

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Being certain that they and I But lived where motley is worn: All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born.

 The speaker had nothing more serious on his mind than a joke because he thought that they all were just living regular, unimportant lives. Now, though, everything is completely, totally different. Some events have occurred that were highly destructive but also helped bring about profound change. Easter Rising has changed everything. The speaker acknowledges that Irish history will be forever transformed by the event of Easter Rising. A terrible beauty is born is an oxymoron. Terrible and beauty are opposite sentiments and speak about the concept of the sublime in which horror and beauty can exist simultaneously. The Easter Rising was terrible because of its violence and loss of life, but the beauty was in the dream of independence.

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Yeats’ ambivalence towards Irish nationalism in “September 1913” and “Easter 1916”

William Butler Yeats, who is accepted both in English and Irish Canons, is one of the outstanding figures of the twentieth century literature. His differing ideas on various subjects have always attracted the attention of the readers of his time and today. One of the themes that have great influence on his poetry is Irish nationalism. Some people regard him as the greatest poet of his country; he is labeled as a British supporter by the others. Yeats describes his nationalism as an intellectual act rather than political. Yeats’ reflected ambivalence towards Irish nationalism in “Easter 1916”.

In “Easter 1916”, which was written after the Easter Rising in Dublin, a more consentient tone is used. It can be said that Yeats used a softer language to criticize Irish nationalism in “Easter 1916”. The poem was written to praise the Irish nationalists that were executed after the Easter Rising, a bloodshed memory in history. In fact, while glorifying these people, Yeats is critical about nationalism and the use of violence for independence, so the poem portrays Yeats’ “sincerity and complexity” about the rising. Moreover, Yeats’s “strong opposition to the violent political struggle as a means for Irish independence made him uncertain about the justice and success of the rebels’ cause”. Therefore, the whole poem reflects Yeats’ ambiguous feelings towards this rebellion.

Seamus Deane claims that “Yeats began his career by inventing an Ireland amenable to his imagination. He ended by finding an Ireland recalcitrant to it”. As things did not go in accordance with his expectations, Yeats had conflicting thoughts about Irish nationalism.

Like the previous one, Yeats starts the poem by mentioning the so-called Paudeens, the middle-class people whom he regarded as “unredeemable from the things of earth because of their fear of death” before the rising. He says:

“Coming with vivid faces /From counter or desk among grey / Eighteenth-century houses” (lines 2-4).

It is understood from the very beginning that though Yeats does not have a close friendship with these nationalistic people as he greets them with “polite meaningless words”, he knows them personally. In “Easter 1916” Yeats talks about them in a more favourable way by using “vivid faces” at the opening. The ending of the first stanza summarizes the bitter truth both for these people and for Ireland. Yeats concludes as

Being certain that they and I But lived where motley is worn:

All changed, changed utterly

A terrible beauty is born” (Lines 13-6).

Upon the executions of these nationalists, Ireland has changed that it has a glorious but a bloody history. Though Yeats has always ignored these middle-class patriots before the rebellion, the present situation makes him change his idea about them. Yeats finishes the stanza with an oxymoron to reflect his opposing ideas, and describes the aftermath of the rising as a “terrible beauty”.

Unlike the first stanza, in which Yeats talks about middle-class nationalists in general, in the second one Yeats mentions four specific Irish revolutionists. The first one is Countess Markiewicz, a member of aristocracy. Yeats describes her voice as “shrill” (line 20) while she talks about political issues to emphasize his disapproval of her ultra-nationalism. Yeats believes that women should not take part in political issues at that extreme.

In the following stanza, Yeats contrasts the unchanging determinism of nationalists with the changing life. He says,

“Enchanted to a stone / To trouble the living stream” (lines 43-4).

Yeats creates an ambivalent atmosphere in this stanza because after glorifying the union of the rebels under a common goal, he compares their extreme idealism to stone for criticism. According to Khan the stone “symbolizes not only the single-minded dedication of the rebels and the seriousness of their purpose but also the rigidity and inflexibility of their political intent”. For Yeats, these people are so enraptured with the idea of nationalism that, they do not question anything while acting.

The stone imagery continues in the last stanza with a striking criticism about the nationalists that too much of a dedication to patriotism makes people senseless. Its consequences are so severe that he asks

“O when may it suffice?” (line 59).

Yeats uses a metaphor for the rebels, resembling them to children who “had run wild” to defend their country. In this part, Yeats also contributes a maternal feature to Ireland and Irish people as he tries to assert that their motherland and their people will always remember them by commemorating them like a mother who “names her child” (line 62).

In the following part of the fourth stanza, after praising these nationalists, Yeats is doubtful about the necessity of this rising, and he starts with a shocking questions,

“Was it needless death after all?” (line 67).

 

It is clear that Yeats is in a conflict as he is not one-sided about the event. He is curious about whether or not British Government would grant their independence without this uprising. In fact, he cannot decide where to stand; on the side of Irish nationalists or being against them.

Yeats ends his poem in commemoration of the nationalists by naming them one by one. He does not mention Constance as she was not executed and was released after a year. He states that Irish people will remember these martyrs “Wherever green is worn” (line 78) because they sacrificed themselves for their country, their people and their flag.

William Butler Yeats, who is accepted both in English and Irish canons, is one of the outstanding figures of twentieth century literature. One of his popular themes is Irish nationalism, which causes opposing ideas among critics and reading population because while expressing his ideas on this subject, he has always been dubious about the acts. Therefore, his ideas on Irish nationalism have been reflected in an ambivalent manner.

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