Yeats presents many ideas in A Vision which are difficult for a reader to comprehend. The author of "Yeats: Making Sense of A Vision" attempts to understand Yeats' work and then to adequately explain its meaning and significance. Yeats admits that some of the ideas he presents can not be completely comprehended during this life. The author of "Yeats: Making Sense of A Vision" presents extremely abstract concepts very well with only minor difficulties.
The author of "Yeats:Making Sense of A Vision" provides the reader with a rigidly structured paper. A introductory paragraph presents the topic in detail but also steps back to present the major questions Yeats' A Vision deals with. After the introduction the essay moves to a compact yet thorough background of Yeats. One large paragraph is devoted to the man and another is devoted to his writing career. These types of facts are important for a reader to understand some of Yeats' experiences, history, and motives for writing. From this base of knowledge about Yeats and his work the author narrows to the specific work of his topic.
A short paragraph singles out two important symbols in A Vision, the gyres and the moon. By setting these symbols off the author stresses their importance. Many readers would not be familiar with what gyres are so the author wastes no time in defining them. Here the author uses an excellent technique. The author inserts a quotation which explains a difficult concept more clearly than the author may have been able to. In doing this the author not only utilizes an excellent opportunity for a quotation but also provides more clarity to an already confusing topic.
After the author defines the gyres and writes about the concepts of moon phases more complex ideas are presented. The ideas of the four Faculties are presented one by one and then defined for the reader. Then they are dealt with in relation to one another. Unity of Being is presented next. The understanding of Unity of Being, like many of Yeats' ideas, requires comprehension of ideas beyond this life. The author begins to confuse the reader as the concepts of the four Principals are presented. Appropriately, the author stays brief with these ideas and quickly moves to summarizing statements. A balance is achieved between necessary detail and excessive detail.
The author clearly has an understanding of Yeats' A Vision. The presentation is clear, each idea is introduced and then defined. The idea is then related to the ones before it. However, at some points the author's writing becomes awkward, "As the falcon gets further from the falconer, it cannot hear the falconer." Several sentences like this one break up the flow and contribute to confusion in the essay. Other corrections could be made as well.
In addition, both the introduction and the conclusion could be thinned out some. The introductory paragraph is huge. This paragraph could be reduced through better word choice and through zeroing in on the topic more quickly. The conclusion attempts to apologize for not explaining Yeats' ideas more accurately. The reader understands that the material is abstract, with very few answers, and thus doesn't need these excuses. They weaken the overall effect of the argument.
Overall the author presents a well developed essay about A Vision. The author adequately explains difficult ideas relating to the afterlife and the period between lives. The use of quotations is well thought out and is a successful addition to the argument. There are few definite answers when dealing with Yeats' beliefs but the author of "Yeats: Making Sense of A Vision" summarizes the accepted interpretations while adding to them. Despite minor technical mistakes the essay is very well researched and very well presented to the audience.