This trade edition contained one new poem “The Well and the Tree,” which was subsequently removed from the sequence to become part of the play, At the Hawk’s Well.
The Responsibilities poems signify a transition turning point for Yeats from the dreamworld of the Celtic Twilight to the harsh realities of the modern day.
Those realities included the attacks on Maude Gonne and himself by George Moore; the Hugh Lane controversy; the workers’ strike of 1913 and his support of the working man and James Connolly; Parnell; and the fuss over The Playboy of the Western World.
His introductory matter continues with a poems referring to the Butler family, a veiled response to the criticisms of George Moore.
The collection ends with a poem referring to with George Moore as a post passing dogs defile.