"The Countess Cathleen" by W. B. Yeats is a play set in famine-ridden Ireland where a compassionate noblewoman, Countess Cathleen, confronts a moral crisis as her people starve. Witnessing immense suffering, she makes the agonizing decision to trade her soul for the means to alleviate their hunger, a choice that places her in league with demonic merchants seeking to exploit the desperation of the Irish. Amidst characters like her concerned husband and a poet who embodies the spirit of the land, Cathleen’s sacrifice becomes a beacon of hope, testing the boundaries of morality and exploring the redemptive power of selfless love even when faced with overwhelming darkness, ultimately highlighting the battle between spiritual ideals and the crushing realities of poverty and human fallibility, leading to a hopeful, yet tragic climax.
The Countess Cathleen
By W. B. (William Butler) Yeats
To save her people from starvation, a countess makes a fateful deal, gambling her eternal soul against the forces of greed during a devastating famine.
Summary
About the AuthorWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, dramatist and writer, and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. He was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature, and later served two terms as a Senator of the Irish Free State.
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, dramatist and writer, and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. He was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Literature, and later served two terms as a Senator of the Irish Free State.
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