The Supernatural Elements in W. B. Yeats's The Shadowy Waters

This research paper deals with the use of the supernatural elements in W. B. Yeats's The Shadowy Waters. It is an attempt to shed light on the significance and functions of these elements. Yeats has long been suffering from his unrequited love for the beautiful Maude Gonne with whom he cannot unite in marriage because she has refused his advances towards her. Nevertheless, he finds his refuge in a dreamy world where, by means of the supernatural agencies such as the magical harp and the human-headed birds of Irish mythology, he can accompany his beloved to the world of eternal love and beauty that is void of pains and sufferings. In this drama, Forgael and Dectora stand for Yeats and Gonne respectively. It appears that Yeats, in this play, has fulfilled though imaginatively both his personal desire, and his dramatic purposes in achieving a universal human experience throughout the use of the supernatural elements, magic and Irish mythology.