This paper aims to study the transformation of Yeats and his poemsthrough alchemy. Yeats was a spiritualist who believed in the soul and lifeafter death. However, European society and culture had been dominatedsince the 18th century by rationalism and materialism, which wereopposed to spiritualism. Thus the period and society in which Yeats livedwere diffused with materialism and rationalism. The prevailingcommercialism, materialism, realism and democracy of the period werederived from such materialistic and rational thought. Nevertheless,spiritualistic movements which tried to restore spirit and inspirationdeveloped both before and after the beginning of the 20th century.Mysticism, symbolism, the pre-Raphalite movement and aristocracy couldbe said to be included in these movements. Yeats was also deeplyinterested and involved in mysticism and symbolism, especially alchemywhich had been handed down secretly as a part of mysticism. To himalchemy functioned as a kind of instrument for transforming anddeveloping himself and his art.
Alchemy originally aimed to transform base metals into gold, to extractthe fine from the coarse, and to redeem spirit from matter. But somephilosophers and artists allowed themselves to become objects ofalchemical transformation. They were inclined to use alchemy as aninstrument to achieve their spiritual development and secular perfection.In his earlier period, Yeats tried to escape into the “essence” throughalchemical practice, but later he used alchemy as a means to develop andcreate himself and his art. For example, in his earlier poems, heattempted to fly into the supernatural world through the rose image whichhe learned from alchemical principles, and he was able to attain a spiritual union with Maud Gonne through a spiritual marriage. The roseand the spiritual marriage, however, can be said to be unrealistic conceptsin which there is only an ascent to heaven but no a descent back toearth. But after his marriage with Hyde-Lees, he recognized and acceptedthe materialistic world, including desire and the life instinct, by fulfillingboth the ascent to heaven and the descent to earth as part of alchemicalprinciples. Therefore he can be said to be an alchemical poet who wasable to achieve secular perfection and spiritual development in thematerialistic world through alchemical discipline and development.