When You Are Old
By
William Butler Yeats
Yeats had proposed to Maud Gonne, a lovely, rich and brainy women activist, in 1891 and several times after that however had been rejected. He had also proposed to her daughter yet had been dismissed once more. Heat last wedded Georgie Hyde-Lees and had two kids with her – Anne and Michael.
When You Are Old
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once and of their shadows deep
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with the love false or true,
but one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
Central Idea: “When You are Old” is a beautiful love lyric. The lyric was composed in October 1891, amid W.B.Yeat’s unverifiable association with Maud Gonne who was an Anglo-Irish progressive, women activist and on-screen character. The poet has addressed this poem to his beloved, Maud Gonne, who never reciprocated his love.The speaker of the poem dramatizes his unreturned love by giving a future warning to the girl of a present day. He tells her that when she grows old she will get the flashbacks and memories and she will regret the rejected love.The poem is full of a lover’s passion, intense feelings and spirituality. It conveys a message that true love is indestructible and constant.
Summary: The speaker of the lyric addresses his beloved saying that when she is matured she should read a specific book which will help her to remember her childhood. She will recall all the people who had cherished her elegance and her excellence with either true or false love before, and furthermore that exclusive who had adored her spirit unequivocally as she developed old and the manner in which she looked changed. As she is helped to remember him, she will lament her botched chance of intimate romance.
Explanation
The poem “When You Are Old”, written by W. B. Yeats is a love lyric expressive of Yeat’s conception of love. It consists of three quatrains, rhyming abba, cddc, effe. It is addressed to the poet’s beloved. The Poet tells his beloved that his love for her is spiritual, not physical. His love is different from that of her lovers who love her outward charms. They will stop loving her when she grows old. But his love will never end because it is spiritual. She would come to know the real worth of his love when she grows old.
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once and of their shadows deep
In these lines, the poet tells his beloved that one day she will become old. Her hair will turn grey. She will feel sleepy all the time. She will sit by the fire and nod drowsily. Then she should pick up this book, the book which contains this love lyric and read it slowly. This book will tell her the real worth of his love. In your old age, you should recall the days of youth when you had sweet and gentle looks. Your eyes had a dark and deep look that made the hearts of her lovers beat with joy. These lines present a sharp contrast between the beloved’s old days and the days of youth when she had an eye-catching beauty.
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with the love false or true,
but one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
The Poet tells his beloved that when she grows old she would recall the old days of youth. There were many lovers who loved her when she looked beautiful. In her old age, she will come to know the real worth of the poet’s love. In her young age, the beloved had many lovers. Some of them were true but most of them were false. But there was one man, the poet himself, who loved the pilgrim soul in her. The Poet means to say that he does not love her outward beauty but her soul. He not only loved her youthful beauty but the sorrows of her changing face also. He will love her till the end of her day. It does not change with the time or changing of beauty, because it is spiritual.
And bending down beside the glowing bars
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
In these lines, the poet visualises a time when his beloved will grow old. Her body will bend down beside the bars of fire place. In a melancholic mood, she will recall how her lovers have flown away with the time except one. Their love has also disappeared into ‘overhead’ mountains and amid a crowd of stars. All her lovers left her because her physical beauty is gone. She is no more beautiful with the change of time and with beauty, the mind of her lovers has also changed. But the poet’s love is permanent. It will never change.
Exercise
Q.1. How is the journey from youth to old age described in the poem?
Ans. The poet describes the period of youth as prised with physical charms, attractive eyes, pleasant feeling of love etc, while as it describes the old age in terms of grey hairs, drowsiness, sorrow, and desolation.
Q.2. What does the phrase full of sleep mean?
Ans. The phrase ‘ full of sleep’ has a symbolic meaning which means old age. It indicates the natural drowsiness that comes in human beings as one grows old and approaches death.
Q.3. How is the poet’s love different from those who also loved his beloved?
Ans. The poet’s love stands different from those of the other lovers. Others loved his beloved for her soft looks, charming eyes, and physical beauty. The poet loved his beloved for her pilgrim soul and inner beauty. His love was spiritual, while as others was sensual.
Q.4. What is Maud Gonne reminded of in the poem?
Ans. Maud Gonne is reminded of her youthful days when she was charming and energetic. She is also reminded of her only true love who would love her for her pilgrim soul. Others love was short-lived while as the poet’s love was persistent.
Q.5. ‘But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you’ Explain.
Ans. The line describes that there was only one lover who loved Maud Gonne truly. He loved her for her inner beauty which did remain intact for the whole life. His love continued even when she becomes old and ugly while as those whose love was false distanced themselves when her physical charms lived its days.
Q.6 Write a paragraph on emotions portrayed in the poem?
Ans. This poem is full of emotions and passion. Yeats uses the word love in all lines in the second stanza and in the third stanza, in the second line, he capitalizes this word giving it so much intensity. That demonstrates he wants to express the strength of his love for Maud and it can be seen as ethereal because it fled over the mountains and hides in a crowd of stars. That love goes up and high like If it is increasing, unreachable and untouchable. It can also be seen as even when he will be dead, his love will be alive. Here, we see that he wants Gonne to know the magnitude of his love for her. Thus the poet tells his beloved that true love is pure. It is of spirit & not the body. A true lover does not only love the physical charms of his beloved but most importantly loves the beautiful soul in her. The beloved may grow old & lose her beauty, but true love never grows old. His love continues even if the beloved refuses to accept him.
Q.7. What images does the poet use in the poem?
Ans. Images are pictures produced in the mind by the use of typical words. In this poem, the poet has used a number of images. Some of them are as under:
a) nodding by fire
b) moments of the glad race.
c) the pilgrim soul
d) sorrows of your changing face.
e) a crowd of stars.
Q.8. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
Ans. The poem is written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABBA CDDC EFFE which gives a steady rhythm to the poem. The poem has three quatrains. The first line of each quatrain rhymes with the fourth, and the second with the third (abba).
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