An Analysis of the Poem A Prayer for My Daughter by William Butler Yeats

At the beginning of the poem, Smith introduces the relationship between the mother and daughter by describing an interaction that occurs between them. The reader only observes this one interaction. The mother tells the daughter “save yourself,” and the daughter—without even considering questioning her mother— “answered yes” (l. 2-3). Furthermore, Smith begins this poem with the phrase “once upon a time,” which suggests that the poem would be like that of a fairy tale: never-ending happiness and joy (l. 1). Considering the main idea of the poem, Smith uses this phrase in a satirical way to introduce the relationship between the mother and daughter, or the authority figure and the obedient follower. Smith is saying that the relationship is some ideal fairy tale, the authority figure would give instructions and the follower would obey them without question—thus resulting in never-ending happiness. Returning to the obvious relationship of the mother and daughter, this relationship is acutely innocent. The daughter trusts her mother so much

The third stanza goes on to describe her continued success and accomplishments as time passes on. "She hung up her diploma, went abroad" as line 9 states, describes her graduation and the continuance of her education. She goes to a more refined, prestigious school abroad. This is symbolic to how much opportunity she has that has set her apart from others. She in fact continues her education as at that time most women probably did not. Lines ten through twelve, "Saw catalogues of domes and tapestry... learned to tell real Wedgwood from a fraud" depicts her extensive knowledge of all topics. She is exposed to lavish thing often such as tapestries and is so familiar with Wedgwood that it is practically of second nature to her. She returns back to her home and weds a man who is on par with her level. We can see that he also is successful and comes from an affluent background as Kay writes in line fourteen "A bright young man whose pearl cufflinks were real." We then learn about their ideal lifestyle they share together- an ideal marriage, an ideal house. But we learn that their children infact do not live an "ideal" life. Infact, they are "lonely children." Although this woman has many luxuries to keep her mind off her inner void,

In the second stanza she begins to express her anger and hatred to her father. She says, ” Daddy, I have had to kill you, you died before I had time” (lines 6-7). The anger is not directed at the person who her father was, but for the person she had become because he left her at such a young age. The rest of the second stanza and all of the third describes her father as being “a bag full of God” (line 8); this line indicates that she loves him and praises him as if her were a

In the beginning of the Poem, she is very uncomfortable with her new husband and was very unhappy with him. As their time together got longer she realized she was in love with him. While she was married to him she learned to be happier and laugh more. Once he left for his long journey through the Gorges of Ch'u-T'ang, she was heart broken. There are many similarities between the girl in the poem and more modern day girls. Their similarities start with how both of them will be angry and be uncomfortable with their husbands that they were forced to marry. Another similarity is how eventually they will learn to love their husbands and will miss them when they're gone. Some evidence that shows me that she is happier with him is when the poem says

As there were many poems to choose, this poem analysis is To a Daughter Leaving Home by Linda Pastan. Linda Pastan’s poems usually talks about families and the relationship between family members. This poem talks from the mom perspective, who remembers many memory of teaching her daughter how to ride a bicycle. From reading the whole poem, it seems to talk about how a mother saw her daughter grew up. The poet used good amount of metaphor using bicycle as a path of life. Analysis will start now with lines from the poem and explaining the meaning behind it. The mother starts with, “When I taught you at eight to ride a bicycle,” meaning her mom started to teach her about life at eight. “Loping along beside your as your wobbled away on two round wheels.” She has helped her by staying by her daughter side and helping her through the problems.

     When You are Old, by William Butler Yeats, represents and elderly woman reminiscing of her younger days. A past lover whispers to her as she looks through a photo album. Basically, Yeats is showing that as the woman gets older, she is alone, but she does not have to be lonely. She will always have her memories for companionship.

The poem, “Just Praying” by Florence Eve, targets the main topic of gaining self confidence and accepting the features of one another. People compare themselves and constantly worry about what others think. In the poem, she expresses that she does not see the potential that others see in her. It takes time to gain the confidence and the struggles that follows with it. In “Just Praying”, the writer uses similes, hyperboles, and tone to display that: self confidence comes with time.

Yeats' style is quite prayerful- his voice at first resembles an aged person who is seeking comfort as he reaches his final days on Earth. At the end of the poem, Yeats' voice has become one of assurance and anticipation. This change in voice is quite effective in developing the idea that living is a circular event, and death is certainly not a final destination. Furthermore, this belief is consistent with the Celtic conviction that death must come before birth in the circle of life because there must be room for new growth before it can occur.

Throughout the poem "To a Daughter Leaving Home", the mother speaks deeply about facing the reality of her daughter growing up and leaving home. Showing the mother raising her daughter into a beautiful young lady, to her reminiscing about the sweet moments

The timeless essence and the ambivalence in Yeats’ poems urge the reader’s response to relevant themes in society today. This enduring power of Yeats’ poetry, influenced by the Mystic and pagan influences is embedded within the textual integrity drawn from poetic techniques and structure when discussing relevant contextual concerns.

"To a Daughter Leaving Home" written by Linda Pastas is a narrative poem about a mother who feels insecure about her daughter leaving home. The poem consists of twenty four lines without rhymes.

This is significant because through Yeats’ apprehension in love, the readers are left only to wonder about their own relationships and whether or not they should risk going through the pain the character in the poem has felt. Body (2)-

     “The Stolen Child”, a poem by W.B. Yeats, can be analyzed on several levels. The poem is about a group of faeries that lure a child away from his home “to the waters and the wild”(chorus). On a more primary level the reader can see connections made between the faery world and freedom as well as a societal return to innocence. On a deeper and second level the reader can infer Yeats’ desire to see a unified Ireland of simpler times. The poem uses vivid imagery to establish both levels and leaves room for open interpretation especially with the contradictory last stanza.

William Butler Yeats is considered to be one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. As stated in an online source, “he belonged to the protestant, Anglo-Irish minority. Yeats was not a set person, in his earlier life he lived in London. Also, Yeats had a very interesting love life as a poet. It is very clear that he was an explanatory poet. Ones objective of this paper is to identify and discuss the significance of William Butler Yeats.

The poem’s opening line, “This girlchild was born as usual” tells the reader about the normal birth of the girl. This indicates she is a plain child who can be swayed in whatever direction an influence directs her. Lines 2-4 describe the toys the girl was given which were dolls, kitchen appliances and lipstick. These toys were used as subtle influences for the girl to learn her womanly roles, which include how to cook and take care of a baby. The make up she is provided with help her realize she can enhance her beauty. As she begins to experience puberty, a classmate tells her “You have a great big nose and fat legs” (6) and this leads her to question her appearance.