When You Are Old - A poem by William Butler Yeats


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William Butler Yeats - 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 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.

Added: on June 29th, 2006 at 12:33 AM | Viewed: 6744 times | Comments (10)

When You Are Old - Comments and Information
Poet: William Butler Yeats Poem: When You Are Old Volume: The Rose Year: Published/Written in 1893 Comment 10 of 10, added on May 4th, 2009 at 7:41 AM. hi this poem was sad and I didn't like it!!!!!!!!!!!! Aderianna from Canada Comment 9 of 10, added on November 27th, 2008 at 9:16 AM. when i raed de novel it smelt like farting Koosoo Pibi Trap from Canada Comment 8 of 10, added on June 29th, 2006 at 12:33 AM. A beautiful poem. It was indeed written for Maud Gonne, the love of his life. It was based on an earlier poem by Peirre de Ronsard, a French poet. Yeats changes the effect of the poem by placing the blame for the loss of his love for her not on the woman, but on the fickle Fates. Notice how Love FLEES and HIDES above, but does not end. Love, and all emotions, are above the worldly sphere of humans. We cannot truly control them, and he does not want to blame her for the day when he stopped loving her, because it was not something he could control. But he was very bitter about it and thought she might feel guilty, anyway. Camilo from China More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, When You Are Old, has received 10 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by William Butler Yeats with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!

Poem Info
When You Are Old Volume: The Rose Year: Published/Written in 1893 Last read: 2009-11-21 20:53:23 Viewed 6744 times. Added on June 29th, 2006 at 12:33 AM.

Yeats Info
Biography More Poems (363 poems) Books