William Butler Yeats

William Butler (W.B.) Yeats was an Irish Poet and Occultist born in 1865.

His interest in the occult led him to categorise large sections of Irish Mythology and Folklore, aiding the "Celtic Rival" Art movement at the time. It was through these interests that he met and befriend fellow Irish Occultist Lady Gregory, and English Occultist Aleister Crowley.

Though secretive of his evidence of otherworldly beings, he did hint at them through his literary works. One such example can be found in the poem "The Cloak, The Boat, and The Shoes", where he documents his conversation with an unnamed Formorian.

‘What do you make so fair and bright?’

‘I make the cloak of Sorrow:

O lovely to see in all men’s sight

Shall be the cloak of Sorrow,

In all men’s sight.’

‘What do you build with sails for flight?’

‘I build a boat for Sorrow:

O swift on the seas all day and night

Saileth the rover Sorrow,

All day and night.’

What do you weave with wool so white?’

‘I weave the shoes of Sorrow:

Soundless shall be the footfall light

In all men’s ears of Sorrow,

Sudden and light.’