A Prayer for My Daughter: W.B Yeats

A Prayer for My Daughter: W.B Yeats

About the Poem

A Prayer for My Daughter by William Butler Yeats opens with an image of the newborn child sleeping in a cradle. A storm is raging with great fury outside his residence. A great gloom is on Yeats’ mind and is consumed with anxiety as to how to protect his child from the tide of hard times ahead. The poet keeps walking and praying for the young child and as he does so he is in a state of reverie. He feels a kind of gloom and worry about the future of his daughter.

Words of the poet - William Butler Yeats

He says “As I walk and pray for my younger daughter, I imagine in a state of excitement and reverie” that the future years (years of violence and bloodshed and frenzy) have already come and that they seem to come dancing to the accompaniment of a drum which is beating frantically. These future years are seen by Yeats’ imagination as emerging out of the murderous (treacherous) innocence of the sea. In other words, the sea seems to be innocent but is capable of giving birth to those howling storms which are capable of leveling everything.

Yeats wants his daughter to possess some qualities so that she can face the future years independently and with confidence. Yeats says: Let her be given beauty, but a more important thing is that her beauty should not be of a kind which may either make her proud of her beauty or distract a stranger’s mind and eyes. Those whose beauty is capable of making them proud consider beauty an end in itself. The result is that pride leads to their losing natural kindness in some cases of that heart, revealing intimacy which helps them to make the right choice in life. Being able to make the right choices in life is a very important thing, but those who have excessive beauty are unable to do so and never find a good friend in the true sense of the world. The great thing about the poem is that it has a specific as well as general applicability. At the same time the poem makes an indirect reference to Maud Gonne also whom Yeats loved so much and yet could not win her hand.

The poet looks within himself and finds that there is hatred inside. He thinks that hatred kills innocence and wishes that his daughter should not harbor hatred. It was because of this unwholesome bent of the mind that Maud Gonne married a fool. The poet wished that her daughter should not cultivate a frantic intellect; he thinks that her daughter can remain innocent if she is free from hatred and intellectual fanaticism. The innocence is self-delighting, self-appeasing and self-affrighting. The poet’s last wish is that his daughter should marry a person of aristocratic family who may take her to a home where tradition and ceremony fill the atmosphere.

In the end, the poem is a prayer for order and grace in a battered civilization. Behind the prayer, of course, are Yeats’ bitter memories of Maud Gonne who had come to stand for the tragedy of how beauty and grace can be distorted by politics, intellectual hatred and arrogance.

Line by Line Explanation

This poem was written by William Butler Yeats for his infant daughter, Anne. He worries about her. Maud Gonne was a radical, opinionated intelligent woman he had loved, but who had rejected his proposals. In this poem he vents his thoughts on her. In his age of 52, he marries a half aged women to him named Georgie Hyde Lees and Anne was their first child.

The poem consists of ten eight-line verses, which divide into five pairs of verses where   I and II, setting the scene; III and IV, first wish for the girl, let her not be too beautiful; V and VI, second wish, let her be kind; VII and VIII, third wish, let her not be a modern woman; IX and X, conclusion                

Stanza 1:

Once more the storm is howling, and half hid

Under this cradle-hood and coverlid

The weather is a reflection of Yeats’ feelings about the post-war period which was dangerous.  Here he personified the “storm” which is howling. The “storm” works as also a symbol which means outside forces that can threaten the baby’s safety. The “cradle-hood” and “coverlid.” symbolize Anne’s innocence “And half hid” shows that Anne is protected by the temporary “coverlid.” Or bed cover or quilt which cannot save her all lifelong.                                    

My child sleeps on.  There is no obstacle

But Gregory’s wood and one bare hill

Anne is surrounded to the violent forces around her. The forces may be riots, violence, starvation, or decay of moral values. But she is ignorant to the violence around her because she “sleeps on”. Her ignorance protects her from the uneasy knowledge. But Robert Gregory’s father could not protect him from death.

William Robert Gregory was an Irish cricketer and artist who was an associate of W. B. Yeats. He became a “Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur” in 1917, and was given “Military Cross” award. He was killed in Italy at the age of 36 when an Italian pilot mistakenly shot him down. Yeats passes many summer with Gregory in his woods or garden but now his now the hill which was named after him is bare, empty. Robert's death had a lasting effect on W. B. Yeats, and he became the subject of four poems by him.

Whereby the haystack- and roof-levelling wind,

Bred on the Atlantic, can be stayed;

And for an hour I have walked and prayed

Because of the great gloom that is in my mind

The poem opens in the Yeats home on the west coast of Ireland, where a stormy wind is blowing almost straight off the Atlantic Ocean. It is making the poet think and gloomy of the stormy world he has known, just coming out of the First World War (1914-1918), in which his baby girl will have to grow up. Here, “Roof-levelling wind” symbolizes turbulent forces like riots, war, murder or social decoy.

Stanza-2

I have walked and prayed for this young child an hour

And heard the sea-wind scream upon the tower,

And under the arches of the bridge, and scream

In the elms above the flooded stream;

Yeats is worried about Anne. He cannot sit stably and having a perambulation in his room. He sees the weather reflects threatening forces like big flooded stream and tidal waves. “Flooded stream” is a complex metaphor that represents huge harm caused by wrongdoer people. It is “flooded” because the flows of troublemakers exist in large numbers which is strong as a flood. The weather that the poet created here is not merely a weather we think like hot or cold rather this weather is the weather of war. So the weather is stormy and destructive which shakes the “elm” trees.  The “elms” are tossed due to the destructive forces. So here we find another excellent metaphor. Here, elms are the people who are affected and fearful and screaming for the war. And the weather what affects the elms meaning people is nothing but war, social decoy etc.

Imagining in excited reverie

That the future years had come,

Dancing to a frenzied drum,

Out of the murderous innocence of the sea.

Here, Yeats is thinking with great reverie or anxiety that that the turbulent weather of war has already visited the world that was supposed to happen later in future he doubted. Yeats is concerned that he hears the overloaded harsh sound of the war drums.

Anne’s innocence is juxtaposed with the contrasting “sea” which is “murderous.”  “murderous innocence” is an oxymoron. The sea represents the world and the crowds around her, and as they are evil, destructive and take advantage of her innocence, they are “murderous.” Moreover, the “sea” or the world is termed as “murderous innocence” because as part of the “sea”, Anne’s innocence is ‘murderous’ to herself because it enables others to manipulate her.         

Complete summary of stanza-1&2                                                   .

Setting the scene: the poem opens in the Yeats home on the west coast of Ireland, where a stormy wind is blowing almost straight off the Atlantic Ocean. It is making the poet think of the stormy world he has known, just coming out of the First World War (1914-1918), in which his baby girl will have to grow up (verse I). He has been praying for her hard, because just as the wind is tormenting every feature of the landscape around, so Yeats can picture the whole world being whipped to a frenzy in the years to come, by some wild force like the wind off the sea (v.III). He has an intuition of what the 20th century will be like!                                               

Stanza-3

May she be granted beauty and yet not

Beauty to make a stranger’s eye distraught,

Or hers before a looking-glass, for such,

Being made beautiful overmuch,

Yeats prays that Anne will be beautiful but not excessively. Beauty can be distracting and destructive, because it draws the attention of all even if he is an unknown person. The much beauty makes him “distraught” and unhappy as if he cannot fulfill his desire to possess this beauty. Even Anne also can be derailed for the beauty she has. If she loves her beauty exceedingly, it will make her stand repeatedly in front of mirror which ultimately draws her away from the practice of very practical life of hard times.

Consider beauty a sufficient end,

Lose natural kindness and maybe

The heart-revealing intimacy

That chooses right, and never find a friend.

Yeats fears that beauty will make her think that it is sufficient because beauty would help her. Beautiful people are more attractive. They can get more favour. For this, Anne may think that she needs not perform acts of goodness, because her beauty is sufficient to place her in a position of security and acceptance. This causes her to lose “natural kindness”. She does not see or appreciate the values of kindness and virtue. She would think herself superior without helping others. Furthermore, having many admirers the beauty of beautiful people allows them to be fastidious in their choice of partners. Hence, they cannot love truly and care for outfit and showy qualities, for they cannot truly feel or know who “the one” is they are looking for.

Stanza-4

Helen being chosen found life flat and dull

And later had much trouble from a fool,

While that great Queen, that rose out of the spray,

Being fatherless could have her way

Yet chose a bandy-leggèd smith for man.

Yeats alludes from Greek mythology. He brings here Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Being free from parental control , she could marry as she could choose as she wants. But, with all her power and advantages “chose a bandy-legged smith for man” (Hephaestus) – someone inferior to her. Then she marries Menelaus, a much older man than her. Again, Helen elopes with the prince of Troy, Paris for seduction,. But she is doomed although she is the daughter of God Zeus.

Helen was beautiful and was granted woman. Her beauty makes her fool. Helen  had no father to guide her. Yeats intends to guide his daughter in the choice of a suitable life partner.

It’s certain that fine women eat

A crazy salad with their meat

Whereby the Horn of Plenty is undone.

The Horn of Plenty was a horn given by Zeus. The possessor of this Horn would be granted his wishes. “Whereby the Horn of Plenty is undone.” This is because Maud Gonne misused her gifts of intellect, grace and beauty. She also misused the benefits she could have from John McBride, her husband. She could obtain what she desired with these gifts – similar to the Horn of Plenty. John McBride is symbolized as an unsubstantial “salad.” Maud Gonne wasted her supposed power; she could have done better for herself, instead she made the wrong choice or desire. For her right chaise is undone, the horn of plenty is undone.

Complete summary of Stanza 3 & 4

First wish: with half a century’s experience of life behind him, the poet hopes firstly that his little girl will not be too beautiful. Too much beauty could distract either the young men around her, or herself, because if it became her purpose in life, she could turn self-centered and unkind, and finish up being left alone (v.III). Yeats recalls from ancient Greece two examples of very beautiful but unhappy women: Helen of Troy and the goddess of love, Aphrodite (today we might think of fashion models). There is some craziness that gets into very beautiful women, Yeats has observed, so that all their gifts turn poor (v.IV)

Stanza 5

In courtesy I’d have her chiefly learned;

Hearts are not had as a gift but hearts are earned

By those that are not entirely beautiful;

Yeats wants Anne to be courteous. Love does not come freely and unconditionally. Love is not inspired by mere physical beauty; it is earned by good efforts “by those who are not” even “beautiful” but are kind and helpful.

Yet many, that have played the fool

For beauty’s very self, has charm made wise,

And many a poor man that has roved,

Loved and thought himself beloved,

From a glad kindness cannot take his eyes.

Many people foolishly love beautiful women depending only on the outer beauty. They think these women as their beloved or they are loved by these beautiful women. Yeats tells these men fool, poor and stupid. Because, these man are “charm made wise”, in a single word “stupid” as glory of kindness cannot attract their eyes. According to Yeats, “Charm” of a good woman has charmed a man eventually. He becomes “wise” by realizing the goodness of loving a kind woman.

An ugly woman “cannot take his eyes” because she is not physically beautiful. But her kindness makes him glad. This could be a reference to Yeats’ wife, Georgie Hyde Lees who was not beautiful, but they had a happy marriage. Georgie loved him much. The poet praises good unbeautiful women like Georgie who should be more loved by men compared to harsh beautiful one Maud Gonne.

Stanza 6

May she become a flourishing hidden tree

That all her thoughts may like the linnet be,

And have no business but dispensing round

Their magnanimities of sound,

Here, in this stanza, the poet uses many literary term like, symbolism, metaphor, simile etc. Yeats hopes that his daughter will grow and flourish with virtue and modesty.  She must be “hidden” – not too open and opinionated like Maud Gonne. A “tree” is fresh, soothing and natural. Yeats wishes that Anne will have  pleasant thoughts. He wants her to talk of good, pleasant things. The linnet is a bird which flies, representing a merry, sweet, girl – not too serious, bombastic and violent like Maud Gonne.

He uses linnet bird as a nice metaphor that make merry making sound around the natural trees without any seriousness. It is also a simile to bright thought as it is a bright colored bird.

Nor but in merriment begin a chase,

Nor but in merriment a quarrel.

Yeats wants Anne to chase and quarrel only in merriment. He wants her to be happy and not too ambitious or opinionated. He does not want her to “:chase” ambition ruthlessly. Here, The “quarrel” indicates simple arguing for fun.

O may she live like some green laurel

Rooted in one dear perpetual place.

Yeats wants Anne to have a solid stability in her mind. “Rooted in one dear perpetual place.” Means she should be confined in a single marital life at a single home. The home is happy, so it is “dear.” This may also indicate loyalty to one man. Maud Gonne had a relationship with Lucien Millevoye – with two premarital children but married John McBride. Yeats wants Anne to be loyal to one man, unlike Maud Gonne                                 .

Here, Yeats uses mythology. The “green laurel” is a metaphor which refers to the nymph Daphne who was pursued by Apollo. Eager to protect her virtue, Daphne turned into a laurel tree. Similarly, Yeats wants Anne to be virtuous, unlike Maud Gonne. The word “green” in turn may symbolize peace, innocence and youth.

Complete Summary of Stanza 5 & 6

Second wish: for his own girl the poet wishes that she may have kindness of heart rather than beauty, because whereas a woman’s exterior beauty can turn men into complete fools, her inner warmth and charm can make a man lastingly happy (v.V). May his girl grow and flourish like a tree hidden away, may her thoughts be as tuneful as the song of a bird, rejoicing everyone around, getting into no arguments or silly pursuits, rooted and thriving in one place, like a laurel-bush, happy to stay at home (v.VI).

Stanza-7

My mind, because the minds that I have loved,

The sort of beauty that I have approved,

Prosper but little, has dried up of late,

Yeats states that whom he loved was beautiful but not prosperous with virtues. For loving such a heart or the mind of Maud Gonne,  his mind cannot be benefited but “has dried up of late” or weakened, tired and not stimulated. He has mentioned her deficiencies.

Yet knows that to be choked with hate

May well be of all evil chances chief.

If there’s no hatred in a mind

Assault and battery of the wind

Can never tear the linnet from the leaf.

However, he states that hatred is the worst thing and paves the way to do everything which is chiefly evil. The” battery of wind” symbolizes the destructive forces around Anne and it “cannot tear” Anne. Here, linnet symbolizes Anne and leaf is symbolizing perpetual married life. Actually, “Linnet and “leaf” portray something fragile. Sufferings and destructive forces cannot destroy the fragile who do not hate as their minds are clear, calm and free. Because, negative thoughts make us suffer.

Stanza 8

An intellectual hatred is the worst,

So let her think opinions are accursed.

The hatred of an opinionated intellectual like Maud Gonne is the worst because it is strong, destructive, and opinionated. The intellectual resists opposition and fights for his cause. There are good reasons for this cause and hatred. Trivial hatred is weak because there is little reason. An intellectual fights for a cause with passion and determination because he/she is determined and clever. Yeats does not want Anne to be over-opinionated. So he wishes “let her think opinions are accursed.”

Have I not seen the loveliest woman born

Out of the mouth of Plenty’s horn,

Because of her opinionated mind

Barter that horn and every good

By quiet natures understood

For an old bellows full of angry wind?

Yeats states that Maud Gonne had plentiful gifts which she exchanges or loss for her strong opinion.  The horn here is the “Horn of Plenty” quoted before in the last line of stanza 4 symbolizes the gifts given by god. The “bellows full of angry wind” depicts her strong opinions. “and every good / By quiet natures understood” are her advantages which are understood and appreciated by people with quiet natures. This makes sense especially with McBride’s abuse of his wife. The “angry wind” is despicable (McBride). Maud did not use her gifts properly, though she had courtesy, grace, ceremony, and aristocracy. 

Complete summary of Stanza 7 & 8

Third wish: by way of contrast, the poet’s mind turns back to his own harsh experience. He has cultivated minds and sought out a kind of beauty that brought him only to hate, the greatest of misfortunes. Whoever keeps no hatred within the heart, he/she will never be disturbed by outside storms (v.VII). Yeats recalls  particularly the love of his life, without mentioning her name, who by spurning others opinion and receives hatred  pushing herself and her opinions on everyone around, trashed her splendid gifts (v.VIII)                                     

Stanza 9

Considering that, all hatred driven hence,

The soul recovers radical innocence

And learns at last that it is self-delighting,

Self-appeasing, self-affrighting,

When all hatred has been driven away from the spirit and the soul, the soul becomes pure and acquires an almost divine innocence, and she becomes aware of the power of the spirit over life. Her pure spirit will control and determine the quality of her life.

And that its own sweet will is Heaven’s will;

She can, though every face should scowl

And every windy quarter howl

Or every bellows burst, be happy still.

Here, Yeats personified “Heaven” which symbolizes God. He is expecting her daughter will submit her wills and fate completely in the hands of God. When this happens, his daughter will be happy, in spite of all life’s problems and tribulations.

Stanza 10

And may her bridegroom bring her to a house

Where all’s accustomed, ceremonious;

For arrogance and hatred are the wares

Peddled in the thoroughfares.

Yeats is preoccupied with Irish folklore and tradition. His writings usually treat Irish legends. His almost all writings  also reflect his fascination with mysticism and spiritualism.  Finally, Yeats hopes that his daughter’s husband comes from a background where traditional beliefs and ideas are very much a part of life, and that culture and tradition are infused into his daughter. He believes that adhering to one’s roots and values gives one a sense of identity and those without his background and culture are the men of arrogance and hatred. But with the cultural practice all hatred and arrogance can be paddled away.

How but in custom and in ceremony

Are innocence and beauty born?

In this last part of the poem, the speaker throws a rhetoric question which answer he is known to. He asks the readers “without tradition and ritual, is it possible to grow beauty and innocence?” we all must answer it negative like somebody may ask you, “can you take a bath without water?” and you must reply “No.” so he wishes his daughter to live with custom and ceremony and thus beauty and innocence.

Ceremony’s a name for the rich horn,

And custom for the spreading laurel tree

Then, to emphasize more in this two, he recalls the mythology he used before in this poem, “rich horn” in line 32 and “laurel tree” in line 47. He makes simile to rich horn with ceremony and a holy pure laurel with custom what can spread peach and security to her in all lifelong like the laurel tree is green all lifelong.  

Complete summary of Stanza 9 & 10

Conclusion: let his daughter drive out hate, and she will discover that all joy, peace and fear arise only from inside of herself, and Heaven will be with her. Then, whatever, all men disturb, storms roar or all anger burst upon her, but still she will be happy (v.IX). And when she marries, he wishes her to keep all pride and anger out of her home, and foster there what “custom” and “ceremony”.

Summary of Prayer for My Daughter by W.B Yeats

 “Prayer for My Daughter” is a beautiful personal poem by William Butler Yeats reflecting his gloomy mood and a fear of a disturbing future. The poem was composed in 1919 and appeared in1921. It was written during the World War I, thus it reflects the post-war agitation that was prevalent during that time. Though the war ended but Ireland was still in disturbance. William Butler Yeats’ daughter Annie was born that time and the poet was worried for her future. He is worried that his infant daughter has to face the challenges and hardships of the future and how best would she be able to fight them. The poet suggests some characteristics that she must undertake which can sustain her future and keep her safe and happy.

SUMMARY: 

Stanza 1: A violent, dreadful storm is blazing outside. The poet says that the ‘haystack and roof - leveling wind’ is blowing directly from the Atlantic but is obstructed by just one naked hill and the woods of Gregory’s estate. The poet then introduces her infant daughter who is sleeping in her cradle, well protected from the assaults of the dreadful storm that is raging outside. The poet keeps pacing the cradle up and down while praying for her daughter because a storm has been raging in his soul too.

He is worried for his daughter’s future and his mind is full of apprehension for the future of humanity.

Stanza 2: In the following stanza, the poet describes the condition of the place the poet dwells in. The poet can hear the shrill sound of the sea-wind that is hitting the tower and below the arches of the bridge which connects the castle with the main road and in the elms above the flooded river. The poet has been praying for over an hour and he is disturbed by the shrill sound of the sea-wind. He is haunted by fear. The poet imagines the future, in course of his excitement and fear; that the future years have come out of the sea and it is dancing to the crazy beat of the drums. Like every affectionate and caring father, the poet is anxious for his infant daughter.

Stanza 3: Now the poet talks about what he is praying for his daughter. He says he is praying that his daughter may be granted beauty but not so much that it disturbs or distracts others. The poet says that women who are very beautiful forget their natural kindness and are unable to accept sincere love. Thus, they fail to have an appropriate life partner and hence they remain unsatisfied.

Stanza 4 : Here the poet refers to the Greek mythological character, Helen. Helen was the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda. She eloped with Prince Paris of Troy which led to the destruction of Troy. Aphrodite also married Hephaestus and betrayed him later on. In the same manner, Maud Gonne too had rejected Yeats’ proposal and had married a foolish man and was not happy with him. Yeats says that beautiful women are too proud and foolish and therefore they suffer and lead a miserable life.

Stanza 5: The poet prays for his daughter that she should have something more than just bewitching beauty. She should be courteous. The poet believes that hearts can be won by the virtue of courtesy; even those who are not beautiful can win hearts by their courtesy. Maud Gonne was very beautiful and Yeats was a fool to believe that she loved him too. Later on he realized his mistake and he ultimately understood that it was courtesy and not beauty that won his heart.

Stanza 6: The poet pleads that the soul of his daughter should flourish and reach self-fulfillment like a flourishing tree. Like the linnets, her life should be clustered around happy and pure thoughts. These little creatures are symbols of innocence and happiness that make others happy too. So he wishes his daughter to be happy within as well as keep others happy too.

Stanza 7: The poet then talks about his own mind and heart. He says that on looking into his own heart, he finds hatred which has come because of the experience of life and the sort of beauty he loved. He prays for his daughter to keep away from such evils and says that if the soul is free from any kind of hatred, nothing can ruin one’s happiness and innocence.

Stanza 8: The poet feels that intellectual hatred is the worst kind of hatred. He considers it as a great flaw in someone’s character. So he wants his daughter to shun any such kind of hatred or strong bitter feelings for anyone. He wants his daughter to avoid the weaknesses that Maud Gonne had. Maud Gonne’s good upbringing and charming beauty proved useless when she chose a worthless person for a husband.

Stanza 9: The poet says if his daughter is free from this intellectual hatred, she will be a happy soul. She will have inner peace within herself. She will be able to keep herself and others happy even when she is going through hardships and misfortunes.

Stanza 10: In the final stanza of “Prayer for My Daughter”, the poet prays that her daughter gets married to a good, aristocratic and decent family. He prays that she would get a husband from such a family who would take her to a house where the aristocratic traditions are followed. He wants his daughter to live a life on high, spiritual values. Arrogance and hatred should not be entertained there. He believes that in the atmosphere of custom and ceremony, real beauty and innocence can take place.