A PRAYER FOR MY DAUGHTER SUMMARY
W.B.
Yeats
A mesmerizing poem "A Prayer for my
Daughter," written by William Butler Yeats, dedicated this poem to his
little girl, Anne, and concerning her future prosperity and possibilities, soon
after her introduction to the world in 1919. Yeats addresses how best to bring
his daughter up in politically unstable occasions. He reflects how she will
endure the difficult situations ahead for Ireland. Essentially, Yeats feels
defenseless not realizing that how will generally be a well-mannered dad. He
needs to give his little girl the best life he can. He investigates his extreme
feelings all through the poem.
The poet believes that his daughter needs a
man to care for her. He stresses over what will befall her when he is no more.
It is significant that, when she is grown up, she finds an affluent spouse to
keep her steady and agreeable. These beliefs reflect regular nineteenth-and mid
twentieth century femininity; accordingly, the poem is customary and gender
traditionalist.
The poem opens as Yeats watches Anne rest in
a cradle. It is an unstable night and Yeats can't settle. He stresses over
endless things, however above all, his girl. Her cradle shields her from the storm,
however one day, she will grow out of it, and afterward he should discover
different approaches to secure her. Yeats alludes to both the actual storm outside
and the political storm preparing across Ireland.
Yeats stresses over what's on the future in
the second stanza. He watches out at the sea, visualizing the years ahead
springing from the waves and pursuing them both. He differentiates Anne's
honesty against brutality that is beyond her ability to do anything about. She
is the sea, and the severe storm outside represents the powers neutralizing
her. Regardless of what Yeats does, the storm will consistently pursue his
girl.
Yeats needs a pretty daughter; however not
all that wonderful that she depends on her excellence for everything in the
third stanza is a supplication to an anonymous power. He doesn't need a pleased
or vain little girl who doesn't have any companions and goes throughout the day
gazing in the mirror. He doesn't need her to divert men, by the same token. She
requires enough glory to make sure her spouse. An excess of excellence is
hazardous for a lady.
He utilizes Helen of Troy (Greek fantasy) to
act as an illustration of a destined lady in the fourth stanza. She was glad,
vain, and self-important. She crushed a domain without pacifying sentiment.
Most importantly, Helen drove men to disastrous interruption. She discovered
love, however it crushed her, and she was hopeless until the end of time. Yeats
once proposed to a delightful lady who dismissed him and afterward lived
hopelessly with her picked spouse and this stanza mirrors his own disillusioned
sentiments.
Yeats considers the characteristics she will
require in stanza five. She should be sympathetic and kind. The most pleasant
individuals are humble. Since Anne must have something beyond beauty. Also,
humble and gracious individuals pull in others to them. Civility and good
behavior are everything. His little girl should be appealing enough to discover
marriage, yet not all that tempting that she is savage and cruel to men who
love her.
Yeats thinks about what makes a lady upbeat
and satisfied in stanza six. He accepts that ladies must be guiltless and honorable.
They cause others to feel better and they carry harmony to the world. Yeats
proceeds with this topic in stanza seven. Kind and solid, independent ladies
are upright. Similarly as the tempest outside can't tear leaves from durable
trees, strife and war can't break a tough lady.
In stanza eight, Yeats entreats his girl to
evade energy and wild emotions. She should be mild on the grounds that
individuals who love also profoundly are likewise inclined to dislike. Hate
demolishes individuals and causes them to do harsh things. Once more, this
stanza reflects how Yeats felt when his true love dismissed him. He doesn't
need his little girl to encounter these sensations of contempt.
He proceeds with the topic of triumph over hatred
in the ninth stanza. Ladies should be apathetic and invulnerable, not
uncovering their actual emotions to anybody. The ideal lady makes everybody
glad and agreeable in any event, when she is broken inside or experiencing economic
blow. Ladies are secures around which all that else spins.
In last stanza, Yeats finishes the poem with
a last wish. He needs her to wed a decent spouse from a steady family with
highborn customs. These families prize ethical quality and perfection over all
things. She ought not to carry on with a meaningless life. All things being
equal, she should go beyond the storm seething around her, climbing to more notable
things.
