W. B. Yeats (William Butler Yeats) was an Irish poet, playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. Born on June 13, 1865,, in Sandy mount, Dublin, he became known for his role in the Irish Literary Revival and his contribution to the development of modernist poetry.

Yeats's early work was inspired by Romanticism, particularly the mystical and the mythological, but as his career evolved, he incorporated more modernist techniques, addressing themes of politics, nationalism, and personal struggles. His poetry is often characterized by its use of symbolic imagery and its exploration of the spiritual and the supernatural.

Some of his most famous works include:

• "The Tower" (1928)
• "The Second Coming" (1919)
• "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" (1890)
• "Sailing to Byzantium" (1932)
• "Among School Children" (1927)

Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 for his "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He also played a significant role in Irish politics, serving as a senator in the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1928.

He died on January 28, 1939, and remains one of the most influential poets in the English language. His works are still studied, admired, and celebrated for their complexity, beauty, and exploration of human existence.