The Original Volume
Limited first edition of W. B. Yeats' In the Seven Woods, published by The Dun Emer Press in Dundrum, Ireland. This image file was captured on September 22, 2014 in the University of Victoria Special Collections by J. Matthew Huculak
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Jmhuculak [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
The photographs above are of the original copy of the volume that Yeats gave to Maud Gonne. The framework and design of the volume is extremely minimalist. In this way, Yeats is most likely attempting the capture the idea of sprezzatura. Sprezzatura is the act of existing gracefully—only specific people are born with the inherent trait of sprezzatura and otherwise it is forced graceful behavior. It is interesting to note the red text against the paper (a possible symbol of love as well as blood and/or pain—both relate to the heart). The most interesting thing about the difference between the original volume and the volume we have presented is that there have been many reiterations of the volume.
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David Holdeman does a helpful job showing the timeline and progression of the volume in his article, "Interpreting Textual Processes: The Case of Yeats's 'In the Seven Woods.'" Using his templates and timelines, you can see the differences in the volumes below:
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Original Volume (1903)
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In the Seven Woods
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The Old Age of Queen Maeve
Baile and Aillinn
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The Arrow
The Folly of Being Comforted
The Withering of the Boughs
Adam's Curse
The Song of Red Hanrahan
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The Old Men admiring themselves in the water
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Under the Moon
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The Players ask for a Blessing on the Psalteries and Themselves
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The Rider from the North
On Baile's Strand
Poems, 1899-1905 (1906)
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The Shadowy Waters
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On Baile's Strand
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In the Seven Woods
The Old Age of Queen Maeve
Baile and Aillinn
The Arrow
The Folly of Being Comforted
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Old Memory
Never Give all the Heart
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The Withering of the Boughs
Adam's Curse
The Song of Red Hanrahan
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The Old Men admiring themselves in the Water
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Under the Moon
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The Players ask for a Blessing on the Psalteries and Themselves
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The Happy Townland
The Entrance of Deirdre
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The King's Threshold
Poems Lyrical and Narrative (1908)
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In the Seven Woods
The Arrow
The Folly of Being Comforted
Old Memory
Never Give All the Heart
The Withering of the Boughs
Adam's Curse
Red Hanrahan's Song about Ireland
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The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water
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Under the Moon
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The Hollow Wood
O Do Not Love Too Long
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The Players ask for a Blessing on the Psalteries and on Themselves
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The Happy Townland
Holdeman, David. "Interpreting Textual Processes: The Case of Yeats's 'In the Seven Woods.'" Text, vol. 8, 1995, 249-265.