16. The Heritage of Words (Purgatory) - William Butler Yeats

 

Purgatory

Writer : William Butler Yeats

Purgatory means a place or state into which the soul passes after death to be cleansed pardonable sins before going to heaven. Though there are four characters in this play, only the two- a boy and an old man appear and play their roles. They are father and son. The play opens by the boy's dialogue to the old man. The scene takes place by the side of a ruined house and a bare tree in the back3ground. The boy is carrying a load of money. The old man shows him the ruined house, tells jokes and stories. He says that before the destruction of that house many great people had lived. Magistrates. colonels, members of parliament, captains, governors and warriors loved that house for their shelter.

The house was loved by all. Great men grew up, married and died in that house. But the old man's father destroyed the house which was owened by his mother, the boy's grandmother who died in giving birth to the old man. The old man's father was not good because he destroyed the house, wasted the property of his wife in wine and women and preserved nothing to his future generation. Therefore, the old man was compelled to kill his father. Now the old man has to face the appearance of the ghosts of his father and mother.

The old man says that the spirit of his mother is suffering in the purgatory with all the remorse of destruction. At the same time, listening the story of his forefathers, the boy asks of his share of property but the old man replies that he needs all the remaining property to spend for wine, women, horse etc. as his grandfather had done. Hate the old man thinks that it is better to kill the son to end the previous tradition. When the old man and the boy struggle for the money, which is scattered on the ground, the boy threatens to kill his father.

At that time the old man sees the ghosts of his mother and father. Then he shows the ghosts to the boy. But the boy can not see them and says that his father now becomes mad. Then the old man becomes angry and kills his son immediately. At the end of the play, the old man explains his reason to kil1 the boy. He says that he killed the boy, his own son, to put an end to the chain of consequence, the polluted blood that would have be got and passed pollution.

In his own words T killed that lad because had he grown up he would have struck a women's fancy, begot, and passed pollution on." After killing his son, he bends to pick up the scattered'money. At that time he hears his dead mother's hoof-beats. Then he realizes being sad that the dream of the dead woman can not come to an end. He prays and requests the God to release his mother's soul from its dream and decrease the misery of the living and the remorse of the dead. In this way, the play ends with the old man's prayer to God.

 

Purgatory

Writer : William Butler Yeats

 W.B. Yeats’s play “Purgatory” depicts the restlessness of spirit after the death and bothers the living beings. Purgatory refers the place or state into which the soul passes after death to become purified of pardonable sins before going to heaven. In the play, there are two characters as old man and his son. Besides that there is dead spirit who hovers here and there for his part. The play basically concerns with the sorrow of the dead and the consequences of the crimes of the dead upon the living ones. The father of the old man committed a great crime by wasting the property by drinking and destroying the honorable house and deprived his son (the old man) from education and inheritance of the property. As a result, the old man, when he was sixteen, murdered his own father. In the play, the ruined house is often visited by the remorseful spirit of old man’s father and mother. The suffering spirit is not purified to enter the heaven because of its crimes and sins during alive.

The groom (one who looks after the horse) marries a rich lady and the couples have a son. The lady dies after the birth of a child and the groom wastes her property by spending a lot and drinking. When the son becomes 16 years old, he murders his own father who burns the honored house, wastes the property and makes his son deprived of education and inheritance (legal rights) of the property. The son has become old now, and he has a bastard son (born out of wedlock). The scene of the play is a ruined house and a bare (naked) tree in the background. The old man and his bastard son stand in the moonlight before the house.

During the anniversary of the old man’s mother’s wedding night, the old man finds that the suffering spirit visits the house again and again in the ruined house. The old man sees the ghost of his mother and hears the hoof-beats (sound from animal foots) of his father’s horse. The boy sees nothing and calls his father mad. The old man discloses the history of the destroyed house to his son. The boy steals the bag of money from the old man and tries to run away. They fight for the money that is scattered (spread) on the ground. The boy threatens to kill the old man. Now the old man is afraid of his own son who has become 16 years old. The old man thinks that his son may repeat the disgraceful tradition of his father. The old man decides to stop the polluted tradition which may last for generations. In the meantime, the boy also sees the spirit of his grandparents, and he becomes shocked. The old man suddenly stabs (kills by knife) his son to death to finish all the consequences. The stage is darkened and the bare tree appears “like a purified soul’ in the white light. The old man at the tree and explains why he has killed the boy. He wants to put an end to the chain of consequences, the polluted blood and its consequence. When he bends to pick up the scattered money, he again hears the hoof-beats of the dead spirit and sadly thinks that the consequence has not come to an end. He laments that he has killed his own father and son without any obvious purpose. Finally, the old man prays to God to free the tormented soul and calm them.

Purgatory

William Butler Yeats

The boy and his father walk on the moonlight night; they are near a ruined house. Pointing towards the house, the old man describes the past of it. The house used to be occupied by his mother and her husband. The mother of the old man had married the groom of the stable as soon as she met him. The man later turned out to be a drunkard and gambler. Due to drinking and gambling, he emptied everything he had. The mother died while giving birth to him.

The father continued his misdeed, which at last resulted in the complete destruction of the house. Because of fear-the fear of his son becoming greater than him, he didn’t send him to school. When he was sixteen, his father burnt down the house. This situation created anger in him. As a result, the old man killed his father with a knife. The OLD MAN then became a peddler. The old man tells his bastard son that the night is the anniversary of mother’s wedding. As he finishes telling his son about the past, a shadow appears to which the man can only see. The shadow is of his dead mother.

A little later her husband also appears, and they both proceed towards the room. The old man objects to the way they go inside. After the incident is over the boy talks about the property he has acquired. The bastard son demands for his share in the property of his father, which is denied by him. It arises anger in him. As a result, he takes moneybag from the Old man. A quarrel starts between them; the boy gets killed at last with the knife of the old man. The old man, after it, addresses his mother and claims that he has ended the consequences. He hopes that the soul of the mother would be purified.

Purgatory

Writer: William Butler Yeats

SUMMARY

W.B. Yeats’s play “Purgatory” depicts the restlessness of spirit after the death and bothers the living beings. Purgatory refers to the place or state into which the soul passes after death to become purified of pardonable sins before going to heaven. In the play, there are two characters as an old man and his son. Besides that, there is a dead spirit who hovers here and there for his part. The play basically concerns with the sorrow of the dead and the consequences of the crimes of the dead upon the living ones. The father of the old man committed a great crime by wasting the property by drinking and destroying the honourable house and deprived his son (the old man) of education and inheritance of the property. As a result, the old man, when he was sixteen, murdered his own father. In the play, the ruined house is often visited by the remorseful spirit of the old man’s father and mother. The suffering spirit is not purified to enter heaven because of its crimes and sins alive.

The groom (one who looks after the horse) marries a rich lady and the couples have a son. The lady dies after the birth of a child and the groom wastes her property by spending a lot and drinking. When the son becomes 16 years old, he murders his own father who burns the honoured house, wastes the property and makes his son deprived of education and inheritance (legal rights) of the property. The son has become old now and he has a bastard son (born out of wedlock). The scene of the play is a ruined house and a bare (naked) tree in the background. The old man and his bastard son stand in the moonlight before the house.

During the anniversary of the old man’s mother’s wedding night, the old man finds that the suffering spirit visits the house again and again in the ruined house. The old man sees the ghost of his mother and hears the hoof-beats (sound from animal feet) of his father’s horse. The boy sees nothing and calls his father mad. The old man discloses the history of the destroyed house to his son. The boy steals the bag of money from the old man and tries to run away. They fight for the money that is scattered (spread) on the ground. The boy threatens to kill the old man. Now the old man is afraid of his own son who has become 16 years old. The old man thinks that his son may repeat the disgraceful tradition of his father. The old man decides to stop the polluted tradition which may last for generations. In the meantime, the boy also sees the spirit of his grandparents and he becomes shocked. The old man suddenly stabs (kills by knife) his son to death to finish all the consequences. The stage is darkened and the bare tree appears “like a purified soul’ in the white light. The old man at the tree and explains why he has killed the boy. He wants to put an end to the chain of consequences, the polluted blood and its consequence. When he bends to pick up the scattered money, he again hears the hoof-beats of the dead spirit and sadly thinks that the consequence has not come to an end. He laments that he has killed his own father and son without any obvious purpose. Finally, the old man prays to God to free the tormented soul and calm them.

Important Questions and Answers:

1. What is the theme of purgatory?
Ans: Purgatory is a story of remorseful of a departed soul that committed mistakes on itself while being alive. In order to purify itself, it is undergoing suffering in purgatory. It is also concerned with the living beings who suffer the consequences of the sin committed by the dead people while alive and the help rendered by the living beings to get the soul released from purgatory.

2. What is the motive (aim) in murdering his son by the old man?
Ans: The old man believes that by murdering his son, he has stopped the boy to have a son of his own who would kill him after attaining 16 years of age, thereby breaking the endless cycle of violence. He also believes that by killing his son, he helps his mother’s soul to get released from
purgatory.

 

3. What is the theme of purgatory?
Ans: Purgatory is a story of remorseful of a departed soul that committed mistakes on itself while being alive. In order to purify itself, it is undergoing suffering in purgatory. It is also concerned with the living beings who suffer the consequences of the sin committed by the dead people while alive and the help rendered by the living beings to get the soul released from purgatory.

4. What is the motive (aim) in murdering his son by the old man?
Ans: The old man believes that by murdering his son, he has stopped the boy to have a son of his own who would kill him after attaining 16 years of age, thereby breaking the endless cycle of violence. He also believes that by killing his son, he helps his mother’s soul to get released from purgatory.

 

5. What is the theme of purgatory?

Ans. Purgatory is a story of remorseful of a departed soul that committed mistakes on itself while being alive. In order to purify itself, it is undergoing suffering in purgatory. It is also concerned with the living beings who suffer the consequences of the sin committed by the dead people while alive and the help rendered by the living beings to get the soul released from purgatory.

 

6. What is the motive (aim) in murdering his son by the old man?

Ans: The old man believes that by murdering his son, he has stopped the boy to have a son of his own who would kill him after attaining 16 years of age, thereby breaking the endless cycle of violence. He also believes that by killing his son, he helps his mother’s soul to get released from purgatory.

 

Sources:

https://tyrocity.com/topic/purgatory-heritage-of-words/

https://www.merospark.com/content/37/purgatory/