STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The task or purpose of this research would be: through the illustration of the "Shift" of emotional focus in W. B. Yeats's poetry between Self and Nation in two different periods of his creative writing through the textual analysis of images adopted by Yeats in his poetry collection. By reading the complete collection of Yeats's poetry and part of his plays with poetic stanzas in different stages of writing, the images appearing in his series of poems represented the emotional focus of Self or Nation with different adjectives. Why different images are chosen in different stages of his creative writing; why Yeats preferred mysterious images from the Irish mythologies but later alter his like and turned to a more patriotic and transformational connotation through realistic images; why he at first expressed his emotions through the choice of images for himself more but later for Ireland more. The analysis of these questions is based on first hand reading and contemplation as the reflection on the holistic and integrated impression of Yeats emotional focus provided a new angle of comprehension, which could be seen through the original logic tracing back to the dynamic features of W.B Yeats's unique literary experiences. In addition, as a poet, a social activist, a playwright, a politician, an artist, a passionate lover, an enthusiastic and a spiritual figure, Yeats's gift in poetry writing with his ingenuity also presented a very beautiful portfolio of his poetic imagery. SUMMARY OF INVESTIGATION: The structure of the thesis will set firstly in the interaction between the components of W.B. Yeats's "Shift" of emotional focus, Nation and Self, through different stages from 1880s to 1920s. There were three chapters following the chronological development of the W.B. Yeats's life and his poetry writing. Thus, the time span from 1880s to 1920s has been divided into two stages: the Romantic and the Realistic, each of which will construct as the independent section while still be in coherence with each other. In the end, there will be a conclusive statement presenting the merits of W.B. Yeats's "Shift" from the perspective of Self and Nation and its relation in between. Instead of concerning solely the characteristics of each stage, this chapter will reflect on the framework, the implication and the motive behind W. B. Yeats's "Shift" of emotional focus. Finally, the conclusion gives a summary on the whole thesis, leaving the space for readers to criticize as well as speculate. The major methodologies of this paper were textual analysis of poetic imageries and comparative method. The mostly-adopted method in Literature study is textual analysis, where the direct reference source are the supporting details of the thesis statement, and "it is a way for researchers to gather information about how other human beings make sense of the world" (Columbia.edu) ; the comparative method will also be adopted in regard to the Yeats research both in the context of Chinese translation and English original context.