Yeats thought that man is an imperfect being and tried to achieve self- perfection all his life. Unlike the romantics, however, who tried to achieve Godlike perfection through abstract imagination while ignoring the world of sense, Yeats tried to achieve a secular perfection of mankind through realistic imagination that recognizes the world of sense. He aimed to create a style in literature as well as re-create himself in a style which would harmonize with this literary style. Therefore, his individual development is associated with his artistic development, and his perfection as a human being is reflected in his art of perfect style. His poems can be said to reflect the transformation of his maturing self respectively. This study aims to pursue the development of his self through the images and symbols in his poetry. In his early period, images such as fairies and the legendary hero reflect his weak and feeble self which escaped into an unrealistic world from the actual world. On the other hand, the images of the middle and late periods, such as the hollow moon, Lady Gregory, the chestnut tree and old men reflect his mature self which accepted the actual world. His self and art were transformed and developed from a weak state to a mature and hard state. It was the dynamic imagination and will of the poet that drove the development of his self and art. Therefore, W. B. Yeats can be called a creative poet.

• 조동렬(조선대) | Dong-Yul Cho