Hello Readers,
Here I'm going to share poem which is written by William Butler Yeats.
◆ Introduction :-
'A Prayer for my Daughter' is a poem written by William Butler Yeats in 1919 & published in 1921 as a part of Yeats collection, 'Michael Roberts and the Dancer.'
This poem is written for Anne, his daughter. This poem was written during the Anglo-Irish war, after 2 days of Anne's birth. He was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century Literature.
This poem contains 10 stanzas of 8 lines each. Each stanza has its own importance in this poem.
◆ A Prayer for My Daughter :-
The poem starts with the description of his daughter, as she was sleeping in a cradle, cradle here symbolized for protection, storm symbolized as difficult time of our life as he started poem,....
" Once more the storm is howling, and half hid
Under this cradlehood and coverlid.
My child sleep on. "
In above lines W.B Yeats , showed his worries for his daughter but he has given advice to her that she faced difficulties of life in any circumstances.
Then there follows a skillful description of the kind of beauty that is not desirable in a woman beauty that makes a stranger crazy or that makes a woman exult at her reflection in the mirror. The poet prays that his daughter may have beauty, but not excessive beauty. He knows too much beauty in a woman will land her in danger. He knows that fabulous beauty goes with an empty mind.
The poet makes suggestive allusions to Helen who had "much trouble from a fool" & Venus who chose "a bandy- legged smith" as her husband. From both these stories the poet draws a realistic and at the same time entertaining moral :
" It's certain that fine Women eat
A crazy salad with their meat
Whereby the Horn of plenty is undone."
So the poet wishes and prays that his daughter may be granted moderate beauty.
Yeats's next prayer is that hia daughter should grow up like a Laurel tree with linnets singing on its branches. The Laurel tree represents luxuriant , growth & peace and Harmony while birds stands for joy. She should bring joy to those around her just as the birds provide joy to people. The poet wants her daughter to become free from hatred. The poet knows that intellectual hatred is great evil and can make the mind hollow. The soul is the foundation of joy and peace so if she can altune her will to the will of God, she need not have any fear about anything. As the radical innocence of the soul is the highest form of spiritual development. Yeats asks his daughter to recover it. It is gift from heaven and no earthly temptations can subdue her.
Yeats's next wish that his daughter should become a political fanatic. Fanaticism will create hatred and I'll will and a woman with these vices will became incapable of using the gifs conferred on her. No doubt, the poet is referring to Maud Gonne, the talented and beautiful lady whom Yeats loved. She rejected him and married John Macbride, another political fanatic.
The poem contains many heart- warming lines expressive of affection, humanity, generosity, optimism , good cheer, amiability etc... Besides we find several examples of the felicity of word and phrase :
" The murderous innocence of the sea,"
" An old bellows full of angry wind."
" Rooted in one dear perpectual place."
We also get a bit of moralizing which has its own appeal :
"An intellectual hatred is the worst."
" Ceremony's the name for the
rich horn
And custom for the spreading
Laurel tree."
◆ Conclusion :-
" A Prayer for My Daughter" is a poem full of practical wisdom, moral philosophy and beauty.
At the end, the poem is a prayer for order and grace in a battered civilization. Behind the prayer, of course , are Yeats's bitter memories of his beloved who had come to stand for the tragedy of how beauty and grace can be distorted by politics, intellectual hatred and arrogance.
Here I'm going to share poem which is written by William Butler Yeats.
◆ Introduction :-
'A Prayer for my Daughter' is a poem written by William Butler Yeats in 1919 & published in 1921 as a part of Yeats collection, 'Michael Roberts and the Dancer.'
This poem is written for Anne, his daughter. This poem was written during the Anglo-Irish war, after 2 days of Anne's birth. He was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century Literature.
This poem contains 10 stanzas of 8 lines each. Each stanza has its own importance in this poem.
◆ A Prayer for My Daughter :-
The poem starts with the description of his daughter, as she was sleeping in a cradle, cradle here symbolized for protection, storm symbolized as difficult time of our life as he started poem,....
" Once more the storm is howling, and half hid
Under this cradlehood and coverlid.
My child sleep on. "
In above lines W.B Yeats , showed his worries for his daughter but he has given advice to her that she faced difficulties of life in any circumstances.
Then there follows a skillful description of the kind of beauty that is not desirable in a woman beauty that makes a stranger crazy or that makes a woman exult at her reflection in the mirror. The poet prays that his daughter may have beauty, but not excessive beauty. He knows too much beauty in a woman will land her in danger. He knows that fabulous beauty goes with an empty mind.
The poet makes suggestive allusions to Helen who had "much trouble from a fool" & Venus who chose "a bandy- legged smith" as her husband. From both these stories the poet draws a realistic and at the same time entertaining moral :
" It's certain that fine Women eat
A crazy salad with their meat
Whereby the Horn of plenty is undone."
So the poet wishes and prays that his daughter may be granted moderate beauty.
Yeats's next prayer is that hia daughter should grow up like a Laurel tree with linnets singing on its branches. The Laurel tree represents luxuriant , growth & peace and Harmony while birds stands for joy. She should bring joy to those around her just as the birds provide joy to people. The poet wants her daughter to become free from hatred. The poet knows that intellectual hatred is great evil and can make the mind hollow. The soul is the foundation of joy and peace so if she can altune her will to the will of God, she need not have any fear about anything. As the radical innocence of the soul is the highest form of spiritual development. Yeats asks his daughter to recover it. It is gift from heaven and no earthly temptations can subdue her.
Yeats's next wish that his daughter should become a political fanatic. Fanaticism will create hatred and I'll will and a woman with these vices will became incapable of using the gifs conferred on her. No doubt, the poet is referring to Maud Gonne, the talented and beautiful lady whom Yeats loved. She rejected him and married John Macbride, another political fanatic.
The poem contains many heart- warming lines expressive of affection, humanity, generosity, optimism , good cheer, amiability etc... Besides we find several examples of the felicity of word and phrase :
" The murderous innocence of the sea,"
" An old bellows full of angry wind."
" Rooted in one dear perpectual place."
We also get a bit of moralizing which has its own appeal :
"An intellectual hatred is the worst."
" Ceremony's the name for the
rich horn
And custom for the spreading
Laurel tree."
◆ Conclusion :-
" A Prayer for My Daughter" is a poem full of practical wisdom, moral philosophy and beauty.
At the end, the poem is a prayer for order and grace in a battered civilization. Behind the prayer, of course , are Yeats's bitter memories of his beloved who had come to stand for the tragedy of how beauty and grace can be distorted by politics, intellectual hatred and arrogance.
Comments
Post a Comment