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“Easter, 1916” Themes
Heroism and Bravery
In “Easter, 1916,” the speaker is moved to admire the heroism and
bravery displayed by the Irish rebels in trying to throw off British rule—even
though he didn’t wholly admire or agree with the rebels beforehand
...
But these conflicted, critical feelings only
make the speaker’s respect for the rebels all the more meaningful
...
The poem
shows that true heroism can transcend personal flaws and, as the refrain
says, transform a person utterly
...
The speaker did not take the
rebels seriously in the past
...
The
reference to “motley,” the clothes of a jester, shows that he saw them as
comic figures
...
The speaker
criticizes a certain woman for lack of judgment, possibly brought on by her
devotion to political “argument
...
But ultimately, the speaker’s admiration for the rebels overcomes his
criticisms
...
The first two stanzas end by saying that the rebels have been changed or
transformed, that “a terrible beauty is born
...
But at the same time, this beauty
refers to the heroism the rebels revealed in being willing to die for this cause
...
The rebels may have
been misguided in instigating a violent uprising
...
” In other words, regardless of
their flaws of judgment or character, it is enough to make them heroic that
they were willing to die for their cause
...
” This act of bravery means they
are no longer defined by the flaws the speaker noted earlier
...
"
Theme of Death and Mourning
In “Easter, 1916,” the speaker is conflicted about how to commemorate
those who have died for a cause
...
He concludes that the
appropriate way to commemorate the dead is to honor and remember them
without deciding whether they made the right choice or knowing what that
choice achieved
...
He says the mourners should remember the dead
by naming them “as a mother names her child When sleep, at last, has
come
...
The image of death as sleep is a
Christian one tied to a belief in the resurrection of the dead, which is also
invoked by the word “Easter” in the poem’s title
...
”
The rebels aren’t asleep for a night but dread forever, and the mourners must
accept this difficult truth
...
The speaker also asks whether and how the rebels’ actions were
helpful and necessary for reaching the goal of Irish independence
...
On
the other hand, the speaker also asks if the rebels’ sacrifice was needed to
obtain this particular goal: “Was it needless death after all?” England may
have “kept faith” and granted Irish independence without the Easter Rising
...
Ultimately, however, the speaker refuses to answer the question of
what the rebels achieved
...
Even while raising questions about the Rising, the speaker
says it is not the mourners’ job to answer those questions
...
” That is, their job is to honor the dead and their
dream without knowing whether their deaths helped to accomplish that
dream
...
”
The speaker performs this job of mourning and honoring the dead in
the poem’s final lines when he names the rebels and notes how their deaths
brought about a “terrible beauty
...
But they became immortal in memory at the
cost of their mortal lives, so their deaths may have accomplished something
great or merely have been a great loss
...