What Is The Message Of The Poem When You Are Old?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

Major Themes in “When You Are Old”:

Love, rejection and time

are the major themes of this poem. To express pure love, the poet invites her to have a glance at the time when she will be old and will not be surrounded by fake lovers. Therefore, she should understand his feelings toward her.

Contents hide

What is the mood of the poem when you are old?

“When You are Old” by Yeats is a short lyric poem reflecting on the long-term effect of a lost love. Yeats was never able to move past his ultimate rejection by lover Maud Gonne. The tone here is

melancholy and a bit cautionary

, perhaps warning his former love that she might regret her decision late in life.

Why did Yeats write when you are old?

It's written about

two young people imagining what life will be like when they are old

. It seems to be an attempt by Yeats to warn Gonne what life could be like if she rejects his pure and genuine love for her and instead turns to what he sees as the less genuine love of others.

Who is when you are old addressed to?

The poem is directed toward one young person, presumably

a woman if

read in the light of Yeat's biographical details. (Though a reader could apply the sentiments expressed in the poem to a man.) I have made an assumption that Maud Gonne is the person about whom Yeats wrote, as she was his muse.

What does pilgrim soul means in when you are old?

A pilgrim is a traveller. Soul in this case means mind or personality. A pilgrim soul might mean a

part of you that wants to travel

, or it may mean that your personality changes over time. There is one man who loves that part of you.

What is the meaning of the line and hid his face amid a crowd of stars?

In the last two lines, Yeats writes that after Love fled, he “…

paced upon the mountains overhead/ And hid his face

amid a crowd of stars.” The last line, “And hid his face amid a crowd of stars,” contains very beautiful imagery, as the reader imagines “Love” hiding between the stars in the heavens.

What is the theme of Where Go the Boats?

Though this poem is taken from Stevenson's book of for children, A Child's Garden of Verses, the poem's

undertones of loss, longing for return, and letting go reach far beyond a child's immediate experience

.

When you are old is a poem of contrasts explain?

The poet visualizes an

unreal condition

that the woman he loved became old and felt regret for refusing his true love. To depict such a theme, the poet deploys elegant and quiet words and builds pictures of contrasts: In the first stanza, there is a contrast between her elegant youth and her depressing old age.

What image does the poet use in the poem when you are old?

The poet uses following images in the poem:

grey hair, full of sleep

, nodding by the fire, deep shadows of eyes, sorrow of changing face, glowing bars etc.

How is the title when you are old relevant?

The title suggests that how the future would be without true love, how the person being addressed would regret after rejecting the man's true love. Another alternate title could be ‘

The rejected love

‘.

Who is the poet addressing his poem to describe the person?

The poet is addressing his love,

Maud Gonne

, English heiress and Irish Revolutionary. She had soft, deep eyes and some sorrow on her face.

Why does the poet urge the reader to speak up now?

The poem “Speak Up” written by Faiz Ahmad Faiz is intended to

encourage the reader to speak boldly and clearly what he thinks and what he believes in

. He wants the reader to speak up for those who're confronting injustice and cruelties by tyrants.

What are in the memory of the Speaker in his old age?

What things are in the memory of the speaker in his old age?

The speaker is lamenting on the loss of his bygone days

. Throughout the poem he expresses his sadness and disappointment on the loss. … The old man of the poem, hence, laments on the lost glories of his past.

How does the poem heaven if you are not here on earth visualize heaven?

How does the poem ‘Heaven, if you are not here on Earth' visualise heaven? Answer: …

He makes a direct address to nature and declares that if heaven does not exist on the earth where else can it be

. He justifies his statement referring to the streams, the waves, and the sunlight.

How is the journey from youth to old age described in the poem when you are old?

Answer: Explanation: The journey from youth to old age is well described in the poem ‘ when you are old' in a way that touched the readers hearts. This poem

says that when one start to grow old, all the troubles and struggles that he has faced will be seen in the form of his wrinkles.

What did the man love in her in the poem when you are old?

According to the speaker, people love the addressee's

“glad grace” and “beauty

.” But the poem then links aging to sorrow, suggesting that the addressee's “changing face” over the years will reflect an internal sadness that comes with the loss of youth.

What is the significance of yeast characterization of the subject as a pilgrim soul in line 7?

What is the significance of Yeats' characterization of the subject as a “pilgrim soul” in Line 7? It

shows that they are different from others that the speaker loved. It shows that the subject is unable to love the speaker back. It shows that the speaker loves the subject for who they truly are

.

What does the poet describe in the poem Where Go the Boats?

It is a poem written by Robert louis stevenson. This poem is about

a child that longs for its boat (The one with which children usually play)

. As the boat moves the child asks the boats that when will they come back and he soon realized that it will not come back and maybe it could be brought ashore by other people.

What does Yeats say about his beloved eyes?


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 love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim …

What does the poet imagine about his boats?

The poet dreamt that

his boats are floating under the midnight stars

. The angels are sailing in his boats which are filled with the baskets of dreams.

What is being described in the first stanza of the poem Where Go the Boats?

What is being described in the first stanza of the poem. Answer:

The poet is describing the brown river and the trees on the either side also the river bank which golden in colour.

What does the phrase your changing face suggest in when you are old?

Ans: The phrase “your changing face” suggests that

her youth and beauty will fade away

. When she grows old her face will get shrunk and will look different.

What does the speaker in when you are old want his beloved to do sitting by the fire?

The speaker wants his beloved to sit by the fire

and reminisce her memories of the past.

What does the phrase full of sleep mean in the poem when you are old?

Answer: The expression “full of sleep”

proposes exhaustion, peace and her vicinity to death

.

What is the mood of the poem what emotions did you have while reading the poem?

Answer: The poem reflects

the sadness of the ‘voice'

at having been rejected by the person he loves. It is also cautionary – warning the person to whom the lines are addressed that she is likely to be lonely in old age.

What is the theme of the poem Snowdrop?

The main themes of To a Snowdrop are

nature, and its beauty, and the impermanence of life

.

What influenced William Butler Yeats poetry?

A poet and playwright, his work was greatly influenced by

the heritage and politics of Ireland

. Yeats was born on June 13th 1865 and in 1923 he was awarded The Nobel Prize in Literature “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation”.

What is the central idea of the poem?

The central idea of a poem is

the poem's theme or ‘what it's about' if you like

. Although many shy away from poems being ‘about' something, at the end of the day, the poet had something in mind when it was written, and that something is the central idea, whatever it is or might have been.

Why is the writer's life agonizing the lamentation of the old pensioner?


The poet has become old as the ‘Time' has cast its spell (effect) and transfigured him into an ugly old man

. It has taken away all his physical charms, energy, and friends. Therefore, he is lamenting.

What are the metaphors used in the poem speak up?

Various metaphors used in this poem are

the oven, the flames, the padlock, and the fetter

. These metaphors have been used to describe the struggle for India's freedom in a symbolical manner and metaphors describe some aspects of our struggle for freedom in an imaginative manner.

What are the major themes in WB Yeats poetry?

The result is that his themes cover such wide ranging areas as

love, politics, old- age art, aristocracy, violence and prophecy, history myth

, courtesy hatred, innocence, anarchy and nostalgia.

Why does the old pensioner lament narrate?

Answer: The poem narrates the life of an old pensioner. It is

an expression of sorrow by him

(the poet). … It is the description of the life of an old pensioner, who is lamenting on his miserable life.

What is the tone of when you are old?

“When You are Old” by Yeats is a short lyric poem reflecting on the long-term effect of a lost love. Yeats was never able to move past his ultimate rejection by lover Maud Gonne. The tone here is

melancholy and a bit cautionary

, perhaps warning his former love that she might regret her decision late in life.

When you are old poem meaning in Hindi?

और तारों की भीड़ में अपना चेहरा छिपा लिया करता.

What is the rhyme scheme of the poem when you are old?

Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows

the ABBA rhyme scheme

in all the stanzas.

Why do the poet compose poem addressing their beloved?

The poet se

The poet in the poem while addressing his beloved

wants to convey her about the different stages of love

. He is trying to explain his lady love that at the beginning of love everything seems to be good and smooth in a relation.

What do you think the poem is addressed to?

Answer: The poem is addressed to

poets vision of a free India

.

What are the memories that the poet talks about in the poem?

Answer: the poet

recalls the time when he lived in Spain

. in this poem he recalls the beauty of the house in Madrid where he lived. the house he lived in had so many flowers in it that is came to be called the house of flowers…..

What are the literary devices used in the poem speak up?

The poetic devices used in the poem ‘Speak Up' are

metaphor, personification and rhyming

. Hope this information will clear your doubts about topic.

What does Smithy symbolize in the poem speak up?

The smithy is symbolic of

the struggle going on for India's freedom

. The oven symbolizes the heat generated by the death of the various martyrs. The flames are the voices of protest that have begun to rise everywhere. Slavery is clearly symbolized by padlocks and fetters.

Emily Lee
Author
Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.