Yeats And Maude

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When you are old This poem "When you are old" was written by William Butler Yeats during late 18th century to Maude Gonne. He wrote the poem for her to show his undying love even though she refused him several times already. It expressed author's admiration and sadness toward her. The first stanza of the poem the author forward the time when she becomes old and her grace has fade and she can read books author wrote for her to remember the past. The author wrote "When you are old and grey and full of sleep. And nodding by the fire, take down this book.And slowly read, and dream of the soft look. Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep" means that when she got old and to read his poems that he wrote for her it will be feel like dreaming and remembered the time when they were both young. She use to have the beautiful face and all the great times. In this stanza the author used imagery in line one and two to describe the image of what will things look like when time passed by. Also the …show more content…

" How many loved your moments of glad grace,And loved your beauty with love false or true,But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,And loved the sorrows of your changing face". In first two lines the author was saying that most of the people loved her only because of her beautiful face. They admired her face but not her soul. Maybe one day when she becomes old and full of wrinkles on her those people will flee her. But the author did not care how she looks but he loves the soul and heart of her. He loved the spirit that she has. The author had a really strong tone here because he was declaring a really strong message that no matter how she looks he will still love her as usual. It is the soul he loved but not the grace, he is expressing a very strong opinion though this stanza and showing the undying love of

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