Easter, 1916 Lesson Plan

How does the speaker set the scene in the first stanza of the poem for readers to understand his thoughts on the Rising?

In the first stanza, the speaker describes Dublin before the Easter Rising. He has met the Irish nationalists fighting for self-governance and engaged in expected niceties with them. However, the speaker seems to hold the rebels in low regard, often mocking them afterward with his friends at their exclusive clubhouse. He is dismissive of both the nationalists and himself, comparing everyone to court jesters wearing "motley" colors. However, the speaker's attitude is altered following the Rising: “All changed, changed utterly: / A terrible beauty...