Dear Readers,
On Thursday we went into Dublin city to see some exhibitions for English. We went to see William Butler Yeats Exhibition at the National Library, the Bog Bodies Exhibition in the National Museum and the Jack Butler Yeats Exhibition in the National Gallery. Some of these may seem strange for an "English" trip, but we're starting to learn comparative studies in class. And our teacher Ms.B wanted to show us the importance of the Yeats family on Irish culture and literature.
My favorite part of the trip was the W.B. Yeats Exhibition. I liked it because he was such a character and his poems are so easy, the message is right there in front of you, you don't have to go digging for a meaning. The only hidden meanings or messages are those that he wasn't aware he was sharing, especially those to do with Maud Gonne, his love interest. I loved seeing his note books and drafts. W.B. Yeat's handwriting is pretty bad and his spelling isn't great. There are rumours that he was dyslexic, but what was most interesting was the fact that he would walk around a say the poem to himself, roll the words on his tongue, switch parts in and out until he was ready to put pen to paper. This is what makes his poems, they're through his voice. He did do a lot for Ireland, he set up the Abbey Theatre and was a Senator. He was interested in politics, though for the time, (1916 onward) this wasn't unusual, and he wanted to create a upper class Ireland, a respected Ireland. That was one of his many dreams.
The Bog Bodies and the National Museum was ok. It was really odd how well they were preserved by the bog and the theories of why they were there. Bogs we split into territories for different Kings, who believed that the Gods lay deep within the bog. It is thought that they were sacrificed to the Gods for a good harvest, but they must have been the ultimate sacrifice because there are signs that one of them was nobility because he had a strong diet and because of his haircut. The other theory is that they stumbled on the wrong King's territories, and then well I think you can guess, they were murdered. It was kinda sad though to see them like that and the fact of how they were killed, and the fact peoples beliefs would go that far.
The Jack Yeats Exhibition was lovely, though I thought that we could have learnt more about the other paintings, it was a very limited tour. It was really good to see the huge change in his style from a realist to an expressionist! His work got so much more colourful and unlike his brother his meanings or feelings are hidden. But I don't mind finding them, searching a painting. Jack feel in love with horses from an early age, especially white horses. They pop up in a lot of his paintings. There was this one called 'For the Road', it is beautiful painting. Source.
My favorite part of the trip was the W.B. Yeats Exhibition. I liked it because he was such a character and his poems are so easy, the message is right there in front of you, you don't have to go digging for a meaning. The only hidden meanings or messages are those that he wasn't aware he was sharing, especially those to do with Maud Gonne, his love interest. I loved seeing his note books and drafts. W.B. Yeat's handwriting is pretty bad and his spelling isn't great. There are rumours that he was dyslexic, but what was most interesting was the fact that he would walk around a say the poem to himself, roll the words on his tongue, switch parts in and out until he was ready to put pen to paper. This is what makes his poems, they're through his voice. He did do a lot for Ireland, he set up the Abbey Theatre and was a Senator. He was interested in politics, though for the time, (1916 onward) this wasn't unusual, and he wanted to create a upper class Ireland, a respected Ireland. That was one of his many dreams.
The Bog Bodies and the National Museum was ok. It was really odd how well they were preserved by the bog and the theories of why they were there. Bogs we split into territories for different Kings, who believed that the Gods lay deep within the bog. It is thought that they were sacrificed to the Gods for a good harvest, but they must have been the ultimate sacrifice because there are signs that one of them was nobility because he had a strong diet and because of his haircut. The other theory is that they stumbled on the wrong King's territories, and then well I think you can guess, they were murdered. It was kinda sad though to see them like that and the fact of how they were killed, and the fact peoples beliefs would go that far.
The Jack Yeats Exhibition was lovely, though I thought that we could have learnt more about the other paintings, it was a very limited tour. It was really good to see the huge change in his style from a realist to an expressionist! His work got so much more colourful and unlike his brother his meanings or feelings are hidden. But I don't mind finding them, searching a painting. Jack feel in love with horses from an early age, especially white horses. They pop up in a lot of his paintings. There was this one called 'For the Road', it is beautiful painting. Source.
We also got to quickly view some paintings from the 20th century. One of the things that the tour guide said was that Jack Yeats never took inspiration from other artists, it was all his own creation. I mention this because one of the large paintings in the 20th century part, by John Lavery, was inspired by the Spanish painter Antoni Tàpies painting, especially the positioning of the people and the use of mirror images in the piece. I thought this was interesting and that's why I liked it.
Personally I love paintings like For The Road because its non realist and abstract plus it has lots of colour. I'm attracted to paintings that have this uplifting bursts of colour. Happy colours. May sound simple, but that's what I like.
I really enjoyed the trip because I got to see how the Yeats family and other people, such as Lady Gregory, made an impact of cultural life of Dublin, and the rest of Ireland. The bog bodies was good because they showed me how old Ireland is, in the sense of people living here, and how the bodies add to our understanding of our history.
If your ever in Dublin, all three are very good and enjoyable visits. I learned a lot and I how you do to.
Thank you,
Roisin.P.
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