Pañeda Vázquez Prada, Covadonga2024-05-202024-05-202021-06-01https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/13410The present work attempts to analyze the influence of Irish political events in artistic expression, focusing on two particular works: “Easter, 1916” a poem by William Butler Yeats and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” a song written and composed by the Irish rock band U2. Both works are inspired by critical political events in Irish history: the Easter Rising, Belfast Bloody Sunday and Bloody Sunday, 1972. The poem was published in 1921 while the song was released in 1983. A detailed analysis of the historical events that inspired both works was performed by studying different academic sources focused on these historical incidents. Thereafter, the artistic works were examined to identify how the authors represented these events in their respective works. Close readings and analytical studies published in books, peer reviewed journals and magazines were used to investigate influences, structure, and elements contributing to rhythm, metre and meaning of each of the works. Finally, a comparative analysis was performed to examine and contrast common and divergent elements. The results of the present study show that, although the two works studied here were published more than 60 years apart, they are remarkable in the number of elements they have in common. These elements include defense of antiviolence, use of military elements to question the pursuit of peaceful ends by violent means, use of religious allusions and references to question the ability of man to judge others and the use of rhetorical questions to emphasize the endurance of the Irish people through a long-standing division along political lines.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessproyecto fin de carreraW. B. YeatsU2artistic expressionpolitical influenceIrish conflicts