Yeats poetry

Response Statement : Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop

William Butler Yeats ' poem Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop ' is demanding , despite its simple language . Its dense , vivid imagery is not always pleasant . The story is a simple one , but tells much of both the characters that do the speaking . By the end of the poem , the reader has gained some true insight into Jane , raising the question of whether Jane is truly crazy or not

The bishop is not a well-developed character at all . He is simple there to get Jane to

go off on her tangent . However , from his brief stanza we can make some assumptions about the characters . First , we know that the bishop is much like any other clergyman , seeking to save someone that he feels is living a wasted life . This assumption tells us much about Jane . Her withered body may not simply be from age . Rather , she may seem as though she is someone that the bishop feels needs saving ' This assumption can be made when he encourages her to live in a Heavenly mansion / and not in some foul sty (Yeats lines 5-6 , a statement that leads the reader to believe that Jane may be slovenly or that her appearance reflects a life of poverty

Jane 's response that fair is foul are near of kin / and fair needs foul (Yeats lines 6-7 ) are reminiscent of Shakespeare 's three witches of Macbeth . These lines reinforce Jane 's unfortunate appearance and also set up her following lines about love . Love , typically thought of as a fair emotion , has apparently been foul to Jane . Learning this fact about her life , one must also wonder if foul ' Jane was not once fair ' as well

The poem is complex and yet compact . Yeats shows the reader a great deal about his characters , but still leaves one wondering more about them . One of the things that makes this poem most interesting is that Jane has an existence outside of its lines : she has loved and lost , she has read (or watched ) Shakespeare . The poem Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop ' clearly shows why Yeats is considered one of the great masters of poetry

Work Cited

Yeats , William Butler . Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop complete this reference with Text . City : Publisher , date...