예이츠를 단순히 반기독교를 주장한 시인이라고 보기는 어렵다. 그동안 예이츠를 주로 불교, 힌두교, 동양사상 등의 관점으로 살펴보았지만 이 연구는 예이츠 의 기독교(성)에 중심을 두고 연구했다. 본 연구를 통하여 예이츠를 단순히 기독교와 는 대립 되는 시인으로 단정한다면 모순이 될 수 있음을 알 수 있었다. 그의 몇몇 작품에서는 예이츠가 기독교 『성경』의 내용을 차용했음을 알 수 있다.

It is well known that Yeats is against Christianity; so, most studies on his Christianity focus on Yeats’s anti-Christianity. But it is hardly known that when young Yeats read the Bible and knew it well. His Christianity is not so simple. I have discovered what is not well known about his Christianity. It is clear that some of his poems demonstrate anti-Christian attitudes. But Yeats depends on Christian themes. Obviously many of his works show anti-Christianity but he also depends on Christianity in some poems: for example, “Church and State,” “A Prayer for my Son,” “A Prayer on Going into My House,” and “Robb Considers Christian Love Insufficient.” These poems show that Yeats must have much knowledge of the Bible.

Abstract
우리말 요약
I. Introduction
II. Yeats’s Christianity
III. Yeats’s Christian Views as Manifested in his Poems
Notes
Works cited

• Cheol-hee Lee(Kangwon National University) | 이철희