A Prayer for my Daughter by William Butler Yeats

💌 Stanza 1

Once more the storm is howling, and half hid

Under this cradle-hood and coverlid

My child sleeps on. There is no obstacle

But Gregory's wood and one bare hill

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.

Explanation: 

The poem "A Prayer for My Daughter" begins with a picture of a young kid sleeping in a cradle that has its hood partially covering it. Yeats can't sleep because of the storm inside his head, while the toddler sleeps soundly in the middle of the "howling storm" outdoors. The poet's reference to devastation in "The Second Coming" is symbolized by the howling storm.

The poet says that the ‘haystack and roof-leveling wind’ blowing directly from the Atlantic is obstructed by just one naked hill and the woods of Gregory’s estate. The poet is concerned about the wind's direct effect, or the force of the outer world, particularly on his daughter. He prayed for his daughter's protection from the storms building throughout Ireland as he walked in the midst of this immense gloom.

 💌 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;
Imagining in excited reverie
That the future years had come,
Dancing to a frenzied drum,
Out of the murderous innocence of the sea.

Explanation:

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. 

Yeats elaborates on his fears for the future in the second verse. He hears the sea thundering against the tower, beneath the bridge, and through the elm trees along the overflowing stream. The poet says that he has eagerly imagined in a daydream that the future is already here. It is dancing to a wild drumbeat and arising from the harmful yet blameless ocean. 

• Gregory wood: actual forest of Yeats’ friend 

The poet's intense worry for his daughter is represented by the onomatopoeic term (a word that sounds like what it represents, eg hiss) "Scream" and the metaphorical "flooded stream.“ It also alludes to the biblical great flood. 

Yeats is then thinking with great anxiety 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 overload harsh sound of the war drums. 

Anne’s innocence is juxtaposed with the contrasting ‘sea’ which is ‘murderous’. 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. Even Anne is part of the sea, and hence her innocence is murderous too in a sense that it enables others to manipulate her. 

The poet uses the paradox of "murderous innocence" in the final line to draw a comparison between his daughter and the outside world. This line also alludes to the imagery of the "blood-dimmed tide" from "The Second Coming."

💌 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,
Consider beauty a sufficient end,
Lose natural kindness and maybe
The heart-revealing intimacy
That chooses right, and never find a friend.

Explanation:

Here, Yeats asks for his daughter to be blessed with beauty. However, he does not want her beauty to cause other people distress or make her reliant on it for everything. It makes others ‘distraught’ because he cannot fulfil his desire to possess this beauty. In addition, he doesn't want her to grow arrogant or conceited to the point where she stares in the mirror all day long and doesn't naturally form friendships. 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 value of kindness and virtue. She would think herself superior without helping others for them, or having many admirers the beauty of beautiful people allows them to be fastidious (demanding, fussy) in their choice of partners. 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. The poet seems to be saying that having too much beauty can be dangerous.

💌 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.
It's certain that fine women eat
A crazy salad with their meat
Whereby the Horn of Plenty is undone.

Explanation:

Yeats provides evidence to support his claim that overly beautiful things have always caused problems and ruin. He looks to Greek mythology's beautiful Helen, who brought doom upon her, and many others. Helen had no father to guide her. Helen's picture makes him think of another mythical figure—Aphrodite— (The Greek word aphros means “foam,”) who was born from the white foam. The Maud Gonne-McBride incident (Maud Gonne was a beautiful intelligent women that Yeats wanted to marry but couldn’t) comes to mind when Aphrodite marries Hephaestus bandy-legged Smith. The poet is left wondering whether the attractive women make a foolish choice that will cause them to be unhappy for all time, or if they simply eat something dumb for salad. 

The horn of plenty was a horn given by Zeenat. 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. Instead she made the wrong choice or desire. For her right chaise is undone, the horn of plenty is undone. 

"The Horn of Plenty" alludes to the formality, nobility, and decorum that are lost on ladies who make poor choices.

💌 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;
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.

Explanation: 

The poet continues by expressing qualities he hopes his daughter would have beyond only beauty. He 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. 

He desires that his daughter grow up to be kind and sensitive. Men who thought they would be loved and cared by attractive women were frequently let down in comparison to those who found love with modest but kind women. 

Yeats calls these men fool, poor and stupid. ‘Charm made wise’: stupid, as glory of kindness cannot attract their eyes. 

An ugly woman ‘cannot take his eyes’ because she is nog physically beautiful but her kindness makes him glad. 

Furthermore, he makes reference to his own marriage when he states that polite, humble people are more likely to win people over. In the end, he makes it clear that he prefers his daughter to be a kind young lady above a arrogant beauty.

💌 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,
Nor but in merriment begin a chase,
Nor but in merriment a quarrel.
O may she live like some green laurel
Rooted in one dear perpetual place.

Explanation: 

He wanted her to grow up to be happy and pleased. In reference to its innocence and joy, he wants her mind to be like a "linnet," and her personality to be like "a flourishing hidden tree." He desires for her to be content with who she is and spread her happiness to others, much like a linnet. 

Yeats hopes that his daughter will grow and flourish with virtue and modesty. She must to be hidden not to open and opinionated like Maud Gonne. A tree is fresh, soothing and natural. 

Linnet: a bird that makes merry making sounds around the natural trees without any seriousness. Simile to bright thought as it is a bright coloured bird. 

Yeats want Anne to chase and quarrel only in merriment. He does not want her to ‘chase’ ambition ruthlessly. Here ‘quarrel” indicates simple argument for fun. 

He also wants her to live the life of a "laurel," firmly anchored in one location. Here, Yeats uses mythology. 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. The word ‘green’ in turn may symbolise peace, innocence and youth. 

He wants his daughter to have a solid stable lady in her mind. 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 want her daughter to be married to one man. 

The poet expresses his desire for his daughter to have a strong tradition- based upbringing. “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

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,
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.

Explanation: 

Yeats continues his discussion of virtuous ladies in stanza seven.

He says that home 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 weekend, tired and not stimulated. He has mentioned her deficiencies.

He thinks traditionally rooted, kind, and self-responsible women are incorruptible. The poet asks for his child to be freed from hatred, believing it to be the root of all evil. In addition, he thinks that hatred and innocence will not leave a soul that is free from it. Turmoil and conflict cannot break a strong woman, just as the storm outside cannot pull linnet (a bird) from strong trees.

‘Battery of wind’ symbolises the destructive forces around Anne and it cannot tear Anne. Here linnet symbolises Anne and lear symbolises perpetual married life. 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.
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?

Explanation: 

The poet begs his daughter to avoid passion and irrational emotions, viewing them as the weakness of attractive women. 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 a 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. 

Those who love intensely can also hate intensely, therefore she needs to be moderate. Hatred damages people and leads them to act cruelly. Intellectual hatred is the worst example of this. The poet considers his feelings when he was turned down by Maud Gonne to wed John Macbride. He wants his daughter to grow up without feeling bitter or disappointed.

• *‘horn of plenty’: the horn of plenty or cornucopia symbolises abundance and nourishment.

Bellows fulls of angry wind: strong opinions 

‘And every good by quiet nature understood’: advantages which are understood and appreciated by people with quiet natures. 

💌 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,
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.

Explanation: 

The effects of hatred and the advantages of avoiding hatred are further discussed in the ninth stanza. The soul is able to regain its innocence once hatred has been removed. The soul would then have the freedom to look into and discover that it is "self- delighting," "self-appeasing," and "self-affrighting." The poet claims that despite all of life's storms, the ideal lady brings peace and happiness to everyone around her. She has a clear mind, which makes her a stronghold for those around her. Her will is also the will of heaven.

Heaven’s will: He is expecting that his daughter will submit her wills and fate completely in the hands of God. 

💌 Stanza 8

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.
How but in custom and in ceremony
Are innocence and beauty born?
Ceremony's a name for the rich horn,
And custom for the spreading laurel tree.

Explanation: 

The final section of "A Prayer for my Daughter" is where the poet makes his final request. He hopes his daughter marries a decent man who raises her in a household rooted in aristocratic customs and values. There, he thinks, morality and purity could be discovered rather than pride or contempt for the common people. In addition, the poet wishes for her to lead a simple existence. He ends by saying that his daughter would have a "laurel tree"-like foundation of spiritual principles.

• * “The laurel tree is of special significance to the ancient Greeks. Its leaves were used to crown poets and heroes. ”

• 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.
• He asked rhetorical question- ‘without tradition and ritual, is it possible to grow beauty and innocence?’ 
• Rich horn: simile of ceremony
• Holy pure laurel: simile of custom
• The laurel tree can spread feature insecurity to her life eternally, as the laurel tree is green all lifelong

A prayer for my daughter: an introduction

Following the birth of Yeats’ first child, Anne Butler Yeats, in 1919, the poem was composed. Because it occurred so shortly after the First World War, this date is very important. W.B. Yeats was understandably disturbed and appalled by the postwar state of affairs in the West. The world was growing more unforgiving and unpleasant, and there was turmoil, upheaval, and change in society. It was during this period in human civilisation and history that his lovely and naive daughter was born. 

Therefore, it makes sense that Yeats, like any parent, would be concerned about his newborn daughter's destiny. The first line of this poem expresses the poet's hope that his daughter won't ever be impacted by that primitive society.

In summary, the poem is not a traditional prayer because it is not addressed to a god. Instead, it is the poet's desires for his daughter specifically that she not acquire the traits that would force her to deal with the cruelty of the outside world. The poem also expresses the poet's philosophy of a civilised culture and decent women, which makes it significant overall.

Literary devices in the poem

Paradox- A paradox is a literary device that appears to contradict itself but contains some truth, theme, or humour. Eg. “murderous innocence of the sea”

Sibilance- A type of literary device and figure of speech wherein a hissing sound is created in a group of words through the repetition of 's' sounds. Eg. “sea-wind scream.”

Onomatopoeia- The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle ). Eg.“sea- wind scream”

Personification- The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human. Eg. “future years.....dancing”, which implies the transience of life.

Alliteration- The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables. Eg. “be granted beauty.”

 

 Symbols used in the poem

The poem begins describing the speaker praying for his infant daughter, Anne Yeats, lying in a cradle as storm outdoors is “howling, and half hid.” The poet captures his thoughts and feelings through the use of symbols of weather. The newborn baby girl is sleeping “Under this cradle-hood and coverlid,” indicating the innocence and vulnerability of her. Though the external world is violent, she is safe and secured inside. The storm is a metaphor for the Irish people’s struggle for their independence, which was an uncertain political situation in Yeats’s day. He further presents the nature of the storm with “roof-levelling wind”, representing turbulence, in the middle of which the poet has “walked and prayed for this young child an hour.” Intense and threatening forces are shown surrounding the baby like a “flooded stream.” The poet symbolises the sea thus: “Out of the murderous innocence of the sea.” Despite his fears for his child in this chaotic world, he is optimistic about her.

 

 Form and meter

Ten eight-line stanzas make up the lyric structure of the poetry. Every stanza rhymes with "AABBCDDC," the standard rhyme scheme. The poem has a metrical pattern that switches between iambic pentameter and trochaic pentameter.

“Iambic pentameter is a rhythmic pattern that consists of ten syllables per line, with alternating stressed and unstressed syllables. The pattern that emerges sounds like this: da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da- DUM.”

“Trochaic pentameter is an uncommon form of meter. It refers to lines of verse that contain five sets of two beats, the first of which is stressed and the second is unstressed.” Eg. DUM de DUM de DUM de DUM de DUM de.

Difference between the two: “An iamb is simply an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. A trochee, on the other hand, is a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one.”

 

 Main themes in the poem:

• Fear of an uncertain future
• External beauty vs. Internal beauty
• Cultivation of good qualities
• Emphasis on feminine innocence
• Glorification of traditional values, culture and customs.

Written in the period of Literary Modernism

"Modernism" can be defined as the purposeful, frequently major departure from tradition and the resulting adoption of fresh, creative modes of expression. As a result, a lot of the literary and artistic movements from the late 19th and early 20th centuries diverge significantly from one another. 

The creative output of artists and intellectuals who believed that "traditional" approaches to the arts, architecture, literature, religion, social organization, and even life itself had become out of date in light of the new economic, social, and political circumstances. By this point fully industrialized society is generally referred to as "modernism."

Peter Childs, perfectly captures the irony of modernism “paradoxical if not opposed trends towards revolutionary and reactionary positions, fear of the new and delight at the disappearance of the old, nihilism and fanatical enthusiasm, creativity and despair” (Modernism, 2000).

 Its characteristics & some of its proponents

• Literary modernism allowed writers to express themselves more freely than in the past. Modern writers include T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, W.B. Yeats, Joseph Conrad, Samuel Beckett, D.H. Lawrence, and William Carlos Williams.
• In modernist works, the free flowing inner conversations and non-linear storylines often highlight the experience and sentiments of the individual. Some of the characteristics of literary modernisms are :

1. The process of experimentation: A wide range of unusual writing techniques that went against accepted norms on narrative structure were employed in modernist writing. Among these techniques include absurdity, nonlinear stories, stream of consciousness—a free-form internal monologue—and the combination of multiple imagery and ideas.
2. Individualism: Modernist literature typically focuses on the individual rather than society as a whole. Tales track characters as they adapt to a shifting setting, typically dealing with difficult circumstances and problems.
3. Open verse: Instead of traditional poetic form, a lot of modernist poets chose free verse, a verse that lacks a recurring rhyme scheme, metrical framework, or musical rhythm.
4. Creative techniques: Various Modernist writers , including WB Yeats apply literary techniques like symbolism and imagery to make their writing appealing and innovative.

 

 About the Author: William Butler Yeats (1865 –1939) 

• William Butler Yeats, often referred to simply as W.B. Yeats, is one of the prominent Modern poets.
• Yeats was a prolific Irish writer of some influential works of poetry in the 20th century. His writing explored themes like Irish mythology, politics, and the occultism. His work is distinguished for its lyricism, symbolism, and mysticism.
• He was devoted to the cause of Irish independence and served as a senator in the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1928. His political views could be seen in his poetry, which often deals with themes of nationalism, rebellion, and Irish identity.
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923, making him the first Irishman to receive the honour.
• Yeats is recognized as one of the most important English- language poets of the 20th century. 
• He is regarded as a poet of symbolism. Throughout all of his writing, he employed symbolic structures and suggestive imagery. He chooses words and arranges them in a distinctive way that suggests deeper meanings behind the words in addition to their obvious meanings. 
• His literary style primarily relies on the usage of physical symbols that have two meanings: suggestive and literal. Furthermore, his symbols possess timeless and immaterial properties. They are understandable and relevant in all eras.
• Some of Yeats’ famous poems are: 

1920: The Second Coming

1927: Sailing to Byzantium 

1889: The Stolen Child 

1933: Death 

1937: Long-Legged Fly 

1916: Easter 

1890: The Lake Isle of Innis free 

1928: Among School Children

 

Main themes in Yeats’ poems

1. The theme of death and old age: A man in old age leaves vibrant youthfulness: ‘The young in one another’s arms, birds in the trees – Those dying generations – at their song’ [Sailing to Byzantium].

2. The theme of chaos and sudden change: ‘All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born’ [Easter 1916] ‘And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?’ [Second Coming]. 

3.Yeats explored conflicting aspects, attempting to balance the ideal and the real: The inversion of the relationship between commitment and morality: ‘The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity’ [Second Coming].

4.The Relationship Between Art and Politics:Yeats believed that art and politics go together. He used his writing to express his attitudes toward Irish politics, and educate his readers about Irish cultural history. Yeats always felt a deep connection to Ireland and his national identity.