When-You-Are-Old-—-analysis.doc

_When You Are Old analysisSince this is a love poem, what makes it different from other one million poems of different ages that share the same theme? My understanding is that the structure is well organized, the symbols are unique and the theme is deep and profound.“When You Are Old” is mainly based on imagination. It starts with a lovely and warm picture of an old lady: when you are old, my lady, and your hair have turned grey, you will be nodding by the fire, full of sleep. If you take out this poem and read it slowly and carefully, you will again see your soft and mild eyes you had when you were young. The sorrow and depth of your eyes will appear in your dream once again. The speaker imagines one day, when his beloved young lady is old, she will be reading this poem and feel the youth of herself again.The second stanza is a contrast between other admirers and the speaker: how many of your admirers love you is only because of your beauty and youth when you are graceful and elegant? Nevertheless, there is only one man who loves your noble soul and your aging face. The speaker refers to himself when he says: “one manThe last stanza seems to be irrelevant to the previous stanzas, but it is the elevation of his affection: the old lady will bend down beside the stove and murmur sadly about the God of Love fleeing away. He goes up a mountain overhead and hides his face among a crowd of stars. This is only the literal meaning of the third stanza and the implied meaning is seeing the God of Love flee away may make you a little sad, but in fact, the God just hides himself in the sky. We may not be able to get married in the human world, but our soul can unite when we are in heaven.There are many symbols used in the poem, namely, nodding by the fire, the book, bending down. Firstly, nodding by the fire gives us a comfortable feeling. An old lady is sleepy and resting beside a warn fire. However, it is also a sign of impending death. Secondly, the book can be regarded as this poem as well as the love the speaker expresses in this poem. No matter how time flies, the love and affection will be well preserved in the poem without fading. Lastly, bending down is an action of seeking warmth from the stove. It also means the old lady is in want of love, care and comfort which she had once rejected. Maud Gonne, with whom Yeats was greatly in love, had been rejecting him all her life. Yeats hoped Maud Gonne would cherish his love before it is too late.The theme of this poem is deep and profound. Normally, love poem is about these things: everlasting happiness, sense of melancholy, untimely separation etc. but “When You Are Old” is more than that. It looks into the future with vivid imagination. I once heard a saying: if you still love a person when you picture him/her in old age or in sickness and are willing to be with that person, you are surely in love with him/her. Yeats gave us a clear explanation on this. Other common admirer of a pretty young lady will back out when the lady is old. Only true lover loves the ladys inner beauty like soul and spirit. The speaker is the latter one. He says that his love will not fade nor decrease as the lady is getting old. Although it is a pity that he and she cannot get married in the human world because the God of Love had left, they are still able to be together when they die. True love is not about physical love, but about spiritual love, like Platos love. Welcome ToDownload !欢迎您的下载，资料仅供参考！精品资料