William Butler Yeats was born on June 13, 1865 in Sandymount in Dublin and went on to become a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival in the late 19th century. In 1923, the talented Irish writer scooped the Nobel Prize for Literature for his "always inspired poetry." A staunch nationalist, Yeats was a key figure in the renewed growth of Irish nationalism in the years leading up to the 1916 Rising and the subsequent War of Independence.

In fact, a number of Yeats' most celebrated works are synonymous with Ireland's struggle for independence, most notably "September 1913" and "Easter 1916." Yeats launches a scathing attack on the Irish people in "September 1913" where he condemns their lack of national pride. The poem's refrain, "Romantic Ireland's dead and gone, it's with O'Leary in the grave," is one of Yeats' best-remembered and most-quoted lines.

In "Easter 1916," meanwhile, Yeats deals with the fallout from the Easter Rising, poignantly singing the praises of the fallen leaders of the rebellion while simultaneously asking whether armed conflict was the right course of action. It is arguably Yeats' magnum opus and the poem's refrain has left an indelible mark on Irish culture. There are few Irish people who haven't heard the famous line "All changed, changed utterly, a terrible beauty is born.

" Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish! But Yeats' work was not confined to Irish nationalism. He wrote about a broad number of topics.