A Prayer for my Daughter

 A Prayer for my Daughter

  William Butler Yeats.

                     William Butler Yeats is the most celebrated Irish poet. He is a poet, Dramatist and prose writer. He also has born noble prize in literary field. His poems most are the most celebrated poems in English Literature. W.B.Yeats initially loved Maudgonne beautiful intelligent women with intensive nature.  He try his bet to win her heart but was rejected than he finally married George Hyde less the poem Prayer for my daughter has been written by Yeats addressing his daughter Anne Butler Yeats.

                                  The poem starts with the stanza that describes the gloom that is there in the mind of the poet for his daughter like any other father W.B.Yeats is also worried about safe and secured future of his daughter. He keeps walking and praying for the young child in the first line of the first stanza there is a word “ Storm” which not only describe the house but it also stands for the problems of upcoming years. William Butler talks about the future years of his daughter which should be without obstacle.

                                        In the second stanza the poet prays for his daughter like around an hour he mentions about wind of the sea like the wind of the sea affect tower, bridge in same way the situation or the difficult that will come in his daughter’s life will also affect not only his daughter but also members around her than we talks about the future years of his daughter this future years seem to come dancing to the accompaniment of a drum which is beating fanatical .This years are seeing by Yeats imagination which  emerges out of murderous innocence  of the sea in the other words. The poet compares innocence of the sea with the innocence of his daughter life. The sea seem to be innocent but see is capable of giving birth to howling storm which are capable of talking anyone’s life.

                              The Third stanza the very first line suggest worry of years.He prays to god that

                          “May she be granted beauty and yet not,

                          Beauty to make a stranger’s distraught”.

                   Thus he prays that god should grant his daughter with beauty but the beauty of his daughter should not distract strangers mind and her beauty should not running “Natural Kindness” of his daughter. Yeats wants his daughter paused with some qualities so that she can be able to face. The future years independently with confidence her beauty should not be of kind which may either make her proud of her beauty or distract Stranger mind. The result will be that the pride will make her loose all her kind feeling to have exclusive beauty is sometimes mind distracting because one cannot make right choice out of pride of beauty and can never find a friend in the true sense.

                         

  She should not be like those craft women who employ their charm “To use the people to their advantage he does not want his daughter to fail in choosing the persons with whom she will be friendly.

               

In the fourth stanza the poet mentions about the helm of Troy who was very famous for her beauty all around the world. She was considered as goddess of beauty and in Greek myth she was considered the most beautiful women in the world who married unknown deserving person by mentioning Helen. Yeats describes his worry that his daughter should not be second Helen of Troy. She should not fail to choose right man for her daughter should marry a person of aristocratic family who may take her to home where tradition and ceremony fell the atmosphere. W.B.Yeats shudder at the thought of his daughter be another Helen who could not help being unfaithful as she was so beautiful she had not her father to guide her and there for she made wrong choice instead of marring a handsome man. Yeats virtues and matching her social standing, she married a fool.

                                Poet expresses his grief that how beautiful women choose “A Crazy Salad” (understanding husband to go with their meal (richness of the men). The poet does not want her daughter to be one such women.

                   In the Fifth stanza the poet wants his daughter to paused the qualities which help her to win the peoples heart. He wants to  teach his daughter courtesy and he also want to teach his daughter that “ Love is earned by those who are less beautiful than he talks about many foolish man who woven around beautiful  women and  they  think that they are loved by their wives but they hardly can see the beneath reality and they just get attracted towards outer beauty and ignore inner beauty the poet wants his daughter to pazes both of inner and outer beauty because with the passing time you may lose outer beauty but your inner beauty will remain till the end and also suggest to man not to get attracted by outer beauty.

                 

   In the six stanzas the poet wants his daughter to be like a flourishing tree and to grow like a beautiful women and he wants the beauty may stay with her for the rest of the life. Her thoughts should be peaceful, positive and pour like that of a little “Linnet Bird” like the bird is must not want more than what is natural and normal. She should not find pleasure in quarrel and in chase. She always should feel satisfied with what she has. He wants his daughter to settle down well in one place like “Green laurel” therefore this stanza describes the qualities that the poet‘s daughter should pazeses.

                                  In the seven stanza the [poet mention about his love once the poet fall in love with wrong women and she did not understand loyal and true feeling of the poets mind dried up and he also talks about how his heart filled with hatred due to wrong women he loved . He considered this as Evil think than he tells that if there is not hatred in a person’s mind that person will be fortunate and safe he wants his daughter to prazes the kindness that can never allow any evil think to happen.

                                          In the eight stanza the poet talks about intellectual hatred which is the worst think .He does not want his daughter to become opinionated .He has a made a direct contrast between quite nature and opinionated mind .He does not want his daughter to be opinionated as she may lose her loved once out of rigidness therefore he prays to god to bless her with quiet nature.

                              In the nine stanza the poet talks about “Radical innocence” he tells that a soul become innocent when all anger and hatred has been driven away and without hatred a women learns to be happy soothed and respect herself. Even when everyone around her goes against her or scowls she still can be happy and therefore to maintain the radical innocence is very important as it soothes our soul.

                                                In the last stanza the poet wants his daughter to marry a groom who takes her to a house with custom and ceremony there should be no space for hatred and arrogance. So that his daughter can live peacefully and by marrying a cultured man her future gets secured in her house ceremony should be like rich horn and custom should be laurel tree.

                                     Thus the poet wishes all the happiness for her daughter and at the same time he wants his daughter to be full of merits.

                          The poem portrays how a father who has been blessed with a beautiful daughter and he is worried regard safe and secure future of his daughter. He wants his daughter to be a women with beauty and required innocence so that she can have ‘’ True friends around her” and can have right life partner to spread life with. 

Thank you