Pilgrim Soul

When W.B. Yeats became the first Irish person to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923, the Swedish Academy was crediting him with giving expression to 'the spirit of a whole nation'. The prize established Yeats as the unofficial poet laureate of a country that had, in his own words, been 'transformed utterly' during the preceding decade.

From the Celtic Twilight of the 1890s to his death in 1939, Yeats's writings offer a unique window through which to view the changing Ireland of his time. In PILGRIM SOUL, Daniel Mulhall's highly accessible and illuminating guide to Yeats, the poet's special role in Irish affairs is examined closely. Each chapter opens with a major Yeats poem through which Mulhall examines the historical events that inspired it. Along the way, he explores Yeats's 'indomitable' Irishness, the roots of his periodic disenchantment with Ireland and the conservative politics of his later years as well as the way Yeats's lifelong encounter with Irish affairs helped reshape his poetry.

Throughout his life, Yeats produced compelling images of his homeland for readers in Ireland and around the world. As a personal journey through Yeats's poetry and his life, PILGRIM SOUL mirrors Daniel Mulhall's own four decades as an ambassador for Ireland, its people and its culture.



DANIEL MULHALL is a retired diplomat who has served as Ireland's Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur, Berlin, London and Washington, and was a member of the Irish Government's delegation at the negotiations that produced the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Since his retirement in 2022, he has been Global Distinguished Professor of Irish Studies at Glucksman Ireland House, New York University, Parnell Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge University, and a Fellow at the Institute of Politics, Harvard University. Throughout his diplomatic career, he lectured and published widely on Irish history and literature and, in 2022, he produced the bestselling and critically acclaimed Ulysses: A Reader's Odyssey (New Island Books). He is a consultant with the global law firm DLA Piper and Honorary President of the Yeats Society, Sligo.



A fascinating, entertaining and convincing exploration of Yeats’ work, as influenced by, and as an influence on, the nation it immortalises.



This intelligent, provocative book will send you back to Yeats’s work with a new appreciation and understanding.



What makes this book unique is Mulhall’s personal approach, shaped by his diplomatic background ...Mulhall’s book stands as a fine tribute to Irish cultural achievements



A readable attempt to understand the enigma that is Yeats and his efforts to reconcile his background and personal ideals with the emerging new order.