Irish Identity: Symbols of Nationalism in W.B. Yeats’s K/Cathleen Plays

William Butler Yeats was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Renaissance. Two of his plays, The Countess Kathleen (1892) and Cathleen ni Houlihan (1902) portrayed themes of nationalism and revivalism in strikingly different ways. Each play uses figures from folklore and mythology to establish a sense of national identity: the tale of the Countess Kathleen O’Shea inspired The Countess Kathleen, and the Irish Sovereignty goddess inspired the figure of legendary Cathleen ni Houlihan. T