The Fascination of what's Difficult
The work is a reflection on the draining nature of pursuing arduous creative endeavors. The speaker laments how the inherent difficulty of artistic creation, particularly in the realm of theatre, has stripped away natural vitality and spontaneous joy. The text employs vivid metaphors to compare creative impulses to a spirited colt that has been saddled with burdens and restrictions, undermining its noble, unbridled nature. There is an evident critique of the processes that force artists to compromise their work through endless modifications and management constraints, transforming what should be an expression of freedom into a cumbersome, mechanically regulated performance. The speaker’s curse upon plays manipulated in numerous ways underscores a broader disillusionment with the systemic pressures and commercial demands imposed on art. Ultimately, the work encapsulates a vow to reclaim or liberate the creative spirit from the constraints of imposed conventions, seeking a return to a purer, more unimpeded form of artistic expression.
By W.B. Yeats · First published 1910 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Satirical Poetry, Modernist Poetry · 158 words
First lines
The fascination of what's difficult / Has dried the sap out of my veins, and rent / Spontaneous joy and natural content / Out of my heart. There's something ails our colt / That must, as if it had not holy blood, / Nor on an Olympus leaped from cloud to cloud, / Shiver under the lash, strain, sweat and jolt / As though it dragged road metal. My curse on plays / That have to be set up in fifty ways, / On the day's war with every knave and dolt, / Theatre business, management of men. / I swear before the dawn comes round again / I'll find the stable and pull out the bolt.
What this Textopian page supports
The Fascination of what's Difficult is listed on Textopian as a poem by W.B. Yeats, dated 1910 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: W.B. Yeats
- Date: 1910 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Satirical Poetry, Modernist Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Dramatic Monologue
- Length: 158 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for The Fascination of what's Difficult by W.B. Yeats
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work expresses personal emotion and introspection in poetic form.
- Satirical Poetry — It critiques theatrical enterprise and artistic conventions through a biting tone.
- Modernist Poetry — Its unconventional structure and language reflect a break with traditional poetic forms.
- Philosophical Poetry — It explores existential themes about struggle and the nature of creativity.
Tags
poetic · mysticism · aesthetics · symbolism · complexity · enigmatic · romanticism · mythology · metaphysical · introspection · spirituality · visionary