W.B. Yeats'' life spanned the end of the nineteeth and the beginning of the twentieth century, and his poetry reflects all the turmoil, fervour, traditions and revolutions of that period. From the quiet beauty of ''The Lake Isle of Innisfree'' to the apocalyptic resonance of ''The Second Coming'', this collection shows the impact of a great poet whose startling relevance to our own times grows more and more evident.