BL. W. B. Yeats

40. Lapis Lazuli. London Mercury 37 (March 1938): 477-78.

Oshima (124, p. 66) finds in the glittering, gay eyes of the ancient Chinese of the closing lines evidence of Yeats’s understanding of Zen, as he received it from Suzuki, a suggestion that in the published record may not be proven but which is at least plausible given Yeats’s acquaintance with Suzuki and familiarity with his work (see D28). F. A. C. Wilson (see 124i), for one, finds Oshima’s reading here ‘utterly convincing’. Reprinted in 41.