본 논문은 예이츠와 김종길 시에 나타난 ‘비극적 환희’를 연구한 논문이다. 두 시인은 각자의 어려움에도 불구하고 ‘비극적 환희’로 극복하려는 공통점을 지닌다. 비록 산 시기와 장소는 다르지만 ‘존재의 통합’ 내지 ‘자기실현’을 이루려고 각자의 시에서 ‘비극적 환희’를 공유한 것 같다. 이에 논자는 그들의 시에 나타난 어려움을 ‘비극적 환희’로 수용하면서 최선을 다한 두 시인의 친연성을 탐구한다.

Yeats completed his theory of tragedy after his translation and the performance of Sophocles’ King Oedipus. The theory of his tragedy is as follows. First, the protagonist tries to overcome his fate and inquires into passionate identity. Second, the protagonist reaches tragic ecstasy. Thirdly, the protagonist changes his passion into wisdom. Fourthly, the protagonist completes the ultimate reality through the tragic gaiety. In short, Yeats, after completing tragic gaiety in Sophocles’ King Oedipus, shows how he embodies the ultimate reality.

It is well-known that Yeats had a very deep interest in the Oriental Thoughts throughout his life. In this paper, the focus is laid on his interest in Buddhism. Many of his friends and teachers, such as George Russel, Edward Dowden, Madame Blavatsky, Shri Purohit and Mohini Chatterjee introduced Buddhism to him and their friendship were lifelong. This paper examines the relationship between “Tragic Joy” in his poem “Lapis Lazuli” and Buddhism. In a letter to Dorothy Wellesley, Yeats confessed that as the east has its solution, the westerners must raise the heroic cry. His confession implies his object is oriental solution or the solution in the viewpoint of the union of oriental thoughts and occidental thoughts. The main theme of the poem, “Lapis Lazuli” is tragic joy. The characters created by artists aren’t afraid of death and play their roles to the end. Accomplishing their roles, they feel joy, though they know their roles are not reality and reality itself is empty. This attitude isn’t different from that of Buddhism. Buddhism sees that the Reality itself is empty. Though artists realize nothing can last forever, they create artifacts and feel joy in repeated creation. It is certain that Yeats believes that the source of all the existing things is the mind. All the things in the world are reflection of the mind and emptiness itself. To realize this truth is tragic but to create again is a joy.

The nature poems of G. M. Hopkins is generally characterized as a sensitive observation on the natural objects. But the most distinctive character of his poems is in its motion and trembling. It is related with his peculiar poetic concept ‘inscape’ and ‘instress.’ We can see too many proves of this moving in Hopkins’s poetry. In his nature poems, every tree, spring water and grass is alive. Even the cloud is described as a moving life force in his diary or poems. It is surprising to be able to see so many life forces in one poet’s poems. This life force is more distinguished in his poem “The Windhover” or other poems of animal. And its climax, we can see in his poem “Harry, the Ploughman.” In this poem we can see wonderful observation on the body of a strong farmer. He observed even the minute motion of muscles one by one and he seems to be glad to see this manly body. Hopkins has an inclination of the socialist and he liked more the labouring men than the cultured weak people. Another example is Tom in “Tom’s Garland” and the blacksmith in “Felix Randal.” This is in striking contrast to Yeats’s early nature poems which are considered as a dreamy poetic world. Yeats was too devoted to one woman’s love and his early poems are a kind of escape from this world. His nature is a retirement place from this world. Contrary to this, Hopkins’s nature is a life itself. For him the whole world and nature are a great and perfect work of God. And he caught its highest moment in its motion, that is inscape.