Yeats early poetry drew heavily on myth and legend, however his later work engages with more contemporary issues. He was born in Dublin on June 13th 1865.
He was heavily involved with hermeticist and theosophical beliefs, and in 1900 he became head of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
See also:
[Maud Gonne]? Lady [Augusta Gregory]?Leda and the Swan