The Collected Works in Verse and Prose of William Butler Yeats, Vol. 2 (of 8) / The King's Threshold. On Baile's Strand. Deirdre. Shadowy Waters

The volume collects four poetic dramas that retell and rework Irish legend and myth through ritualized dialogue and symbolic scenes. A recurring concern is the tension between poetic or personal truth and public power, shown in conflicts between poets and kings, lovers and destiny. Dreamlike imagery, elegiac lyricism, and stagecraft evoke fatalism, exile, and the burdens of art; characters confront sacrifice, longing, and the legacy of ancient treasures and curses. Appendices offer alternate versions and notes on performance and mythic sources, underscoring the plays' hybrid aims as both literary poems and scripts for the theatre.