This paper is an attempt to practice Jungian ways into a great poem of Yeats’s,“Among School Children,” over which home and foreign academic societiesconcerned have been under much controversy till now. But it is very regrettable thatI have no belief if the views issued from some noted scholars in the societies havebeen plausible or appropriate. In the sense, as suggested by the title, the encounterbetween Great psychologist C. G. Jung and Great poet W. B. Yeat is verysignificant in that they both had pursued the same ultimate subject as a supremestate of humanity respectively represented as archetype of ‘Self’ and ‘Unity ofBeing.’ For Jungian ways applied to the poem, first symbols, images andpsychological situations lurking in it can be useful as the interpretative clues. Theserepresentations can function as faithful agents helping us to reach the gate of thepoetic truth, urging us to mobilize Jungian esoteric terms corresponded to severalkinds of psychological situations people must go through.
‘Great Mother,’ maternal archetype, who stands for earth and womb and takestwo characteristics, construction and destruction, possessing opposite qualities ofWitch Kali and Virgin Mary, exercises serious effect upon a male child as anearthly hero. Some ideal aim or mission that the hero strives to grasp is justequivalent to hurriedly return to the womb as his biological origin, namely secularrealization of the principle of ‘entrophy’ meaning the second principle ofthermodynamics; does mean the hero’s life whatever else? It can be associated withthe biblical situation, Pieta, the holy picture describing Mary’s lamenting in bittergrief with embracing his dead son, Jesus Christ. In fact, the hero is determined todeath resulting from energetic emission of burning libido, which can be embellished with either establishment of duty or sacrifice to community. Thus, ‘Great mother’longing for the runaway baby from her womb, in turn, is expecting his death tosuffice emptiness of womb and heal her chronic complex, hysteria.
In conclusion, in the poem, we can find that the destiny that after “children” inthe “school” go through a initial step of ‘individuation,’ the perfect state whichfurther can be indivisible, they, absurd beings, are cast into the tough world witheach secular mission is just to aid the scheme of ‘Great Mother.’ “school” is atemple teaching “dance” and “children” in it dancers learning “dance.” Accordingly,the enigmatic relation of “dancer” and “dance” in the eighth stanza would beunraveled: The former can come under an archetypal pattern and the latter cancorrespond to its practitioner. Thus, “dance,” playing a role of ‘complex’ ascompelling force and driving us to imitate it, tires us, dancers, finally to death, asan erotic dancer Salome’s dance murdered a spiritual dancer John the Baptist. Afterall, we can never get to the core of “dance” only to hang around its brink, whichYeats should know. As usual, getting captivated by “dance,” we continually shouthoarse to others: Shall we dance?