View source for Yeats (W.B.) - pronunciation

The surname of the great Irish poet '''[[W.B. Yeats]]''' (1865-1939), who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923), being of [[Celtic (language)|Celtic]] origin, is pronounced to rhyme with 'dates' /jeIts/. Do not confuse him with the great English poet [[Keats]] (''q.v.'')  (The initials stand for William Butler: the 'Butler' was a family tradition, the poet's father having been John Butler Yeats and his brother the celebrated painter Jack Butler Yeats.)