When you are old

Comprehension II

1. How is the ‘one man’ different from the many others who loved the lady?

William Butler Yeats is an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures in
20th century literature. The speaker of the poem addresses the most beautiful
lady of his time who does not reciprocate his love. The poet visualizes her old
age and thinks that, by then, the lady will be left with none but only with the
book of memories. He wants her to visualise her youth when she was
surrounded by many lovers and suitors who were merely drawn to her physical
beauty. He doubts if their intentions of love were true or false. In contrast, he
says that he is the one man different from them as he has loved the pilgrim soul
in her. He was the one who loved her inner beauty as well as the sorrows of her
changing face.

2. Does the poem bring out the transient nature of beauty as against
permanence of love?

The poem, “When You Are Old” mainly speaks about two important
combinations: beauty and love and time and regret. Shakespeare in one of his
poems said, “Love is not Time’s fool”. That means time cannot control love. True
love does not change. However, beauty is subject to change and lose its grace
as time passes. Similarly, W.B. Yeats in this poem says that the young lady is
surrounded by many who are attracted to her physical beauty. Once it wears
off, what remains will be nothing. He states that she does not understand his
true love. He loves her spiritual soul rather than her physical self. The poet thus
says that the lady who now enjoys attention hardly understands that in future
she will be left only with regret. The poem emphasises the fact that beauty is
transient against permanence of love.

Comprehension III

1. Comment on the usage of time frame by the poet.

“When You Are Old” is a short love poem written by one of the best-known Irish
poets W.B. Yeats. The speaker asks her lady love in the present, to imagine a
future when she is old and then urges her to recall her past memories. The poem
 has a time frame of present and future. Besides, it presents striking contrasts. In
the poem the poet feels that his pure love for her is not reciprocated by her, so
he asserts his spiritual love. The poem sets up a time frame of present and future
in comparison with youth and old age. The lady seems to bask in her stardom as
understandably, there are many who just adore her glamour and beauty. The
poet has found the pilgrim soul in her which appeals to his heart. The opening
stanza presents the picture of the future years when the lady will be left only
with loneliness. He says that the lady will only regret the loss of her spiritual love
and youth.
The poem shifts to the present in the second stanza where the poet brings us
the picture of the lady surrounded by love aspirant youth. He regrets that she
does not perceive his real spiritual love. The poem concludes with a shift to the
future years where she will have lost her beauty and love. The poet sadly
concludes that his soul will have traversed beyond her reach over the
mountains.

The poet has used wide contrasts in terms of present and future and beauty and
time. He takes a conservative stand in his spiritual love in contrast with the
many who loved her glad grace. He does not overtly convey his concerns to her
while she is engrossed with all the admiration she is receiving.

2. “When You Are Old” is a poem of contrasts. What purposes do they serve?

The poem talks about the unrequited love. To depict the same the poet has used
many contrasts. The tone of the poem is one of melancholy. The speaker repents
over her lady love’s divergent attitude who fails to understand his spiritual
love. The poet begins the first stanza addressing her imagining her to be in her
old age. The lady will be very old approaching her peaceful years. She then
revisits the past. She is taken back in time to recollect her past when she had
innocent looks in her eyes. The poet also says that his beloved would also regret
how many loved her physical grace but only he worshipped her pilgrim soul even
when her physical beauty was leaving her. At last, the lady will grieve over the
loss of her True Love fleeing from her and joining a crowd of stars very distant
from her. Thus, the poet expresses his true intentions which his beloved fails to
understand.

In the first stanza there is a contrast between her elegant youth and her
depressing old age. In the second stanza there is a contrast between superficial
and true love and physical beauty and inner beauty. In the final stanza there is a
contrast between the permanence of love and the transient nature of the
physical beauty.