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A Prayer For My Daughter by William Butler Yeats

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet who wrote "A Prayer for my Daughter" two days after the birth of his daughter. Naturally it follows that this poem reflects the qualms of a father regarding the upbringing of his daughter, his aspirations for her and his dilemmas in what to avoid and qualities to instill in his daughter.

Butler starts the poem with a description of storm that is brewing outside while his infant daughter sleeps cozily in her cradle half visible. There is nothing stopping the storm except a forest called Gregory's Wood and a solitary hill. In this state, the poet's mind is troubled and he is walking about, praying all this while. In the second stanza, the speaker reveals that the reason for his restlessness is his newborn. Here, he goes into expanding details about the storm as it screams upon the tower. As if in a daydream, he excitedly imagines his daughter's future in a frenzied state lacking calmness. He hopes for his daughter to grow beautiful but not to an extent that it might invite trouble by driving others mad, nor herself when she looks into the mirror. He propounds that beautiful people tend to be arrogant of their beauty and lose their kindness and courtesy. This might provide her with shallow adoration but she will struggle to make genuine friends or find love.

He alludes to provide an example of Helen of Troy who being a king's wife, found her life boring. This made her act with rashness and eloped with Paris which led to destruction of Troy. He contrasts this with another character of Greek mythos - Aphrodite, who being born from the ocean was fatherless and ad enough freedom. Yet she chose Hephaestus, a crippled god and a blacksmith to be her husband. Hence, he concludes that there resides an element of craziness in every woman that makes her waste her potential. Now, the speaker delves into the manners he plans to adopt in raising his daughter. The primary subject would be to teach her courtesy as he believes love is earned and nobody is merely entitled to it. Even many foolish men going after beauty have been improved and made wise by a woman's charming manners. At the end of the day people are attracted to woman's kindness over her superficial attributes. He hopes that his daughter may flourish and grow without the show of exuberance. He hopes that she be interested only in sharing generous, pleasing sounds with the world. If she were to argue, it only be for mere fun and amusement. He wishes her to live like green laurel, everlasting but firm and dedicated towards her cor values.

He reminisces that the kind of women he has been attracted to have not prospered and have gone somewhat extinct. Nonetheless, he feels that being full of hatred is the worst way to live. If the mind is impervious to hate, the trials and tribulations of life will not uproot the love and morality of one's soul. He further criticizes intellectualism as he believes that it breeds hatred in the mind and must be avoided at all costs. As per his experience, this has led to loveliest of women to ruin and degeneracy and bitterness by marrying old men. Hence, once this temptation is resisted, soul recovers its virtue and purity. It will learn that it is self suffering in feeling love and living well. He compares this state to divine will. This will make her immune to external factors as she will be fulfilled all by herself. Finally, he hopes that her husband takes her to a home where everything is performed according to customs. He attests that arrogance and hatred are lowly and suited for the streets. True beauty is found in custom and traditions. Ceremony and culture are the testament of true beauty as culture lasts as evergreen laurel tree.

The poem begins with a description of a powerful storm howling. This is contrasted with his baby daughter sleeping calmly in her crib. He further expands on the storm and concludes the stanza saying that his mind is troubled. The storm acts as a metaphor for his mental state which is restless at the moment and worried about his daughter's future. He utilizes imagery to portray the storm as 'howling'. In sharp contrast, the child's innocence is presented as it slumbers unbothered. He does paint a picture of a rural setting through descriptions of wood, hill and haystack. The storm has resulted in "the great gloom that is in my mind" which is repeated in the second stanza as "I have walked and prayed". "And heard the sea-wing scream upon the tower" denotes the rapid thoughts going haywire inside his head. One can also note the use of sibilance in this line. Similarly "flooded stream" might be a metaphor for the overwhelming thoughts. His mental state is all over the place as he describes it being in "excited reverie" thinking about the future. There is a use of alliteration in "Dancing to a frenzied drum". 'Sea' is a metaphor for unpredictable future and he uses an oxymoron i.e. "murderous innocence" to describe its cruel but blameless nature. 

Yeats propounds on the nature of beauty and its fleeting nature while kindness is the true beauty that lasts. He deploys analogies to support his case straight from Greek mythology. He uses Helen of Troy to represent the destruction brought by beauty and lack of reason. Yet another case of Goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite who was married to "bandy-legged smith" meaning Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship who is a cripple. It is to be noted that Aphrodite was married off by Zeus and not of her own volition as Yeats suggests. "fine women eat crazy salad" can be interpreted as misogynistic notion portraying stereotypical over-emotional women. After criticizing the nature of beauty, he presents his case for better alternatives that is kindness and courtesy. "Hearts" is a metaphor for love and respect that must be earned and not given through entitlement. He uses another oxymoron "flourishing-hidden tree" to highlight the need of maintaining humility and fostering character. The repetition of phrase "Nor but in merriment" in lines 45 and 46 to call attention that she shouldn't involve in arguments unless for fun. Yeats uses a simile "like some green laurel" expressing his wish for her to flourish like evergreen laurel plant and at the same time stay true to her core ideas as "Rooted in one dear perpetual place".

Yet another use of oxymoronic term "radical innocence" denotes his conviction in his ideas. The repetition of word "self" accentuates the sufficiency and sovereignty of one's soul free fro hatred. Alliterative verse can be observed in "Or every bellows burst, be happy still" to further highlight such a soul's independence. Finally he prioritizes the importance of culture and tradition as it is compared to the "laurel tree" meaning everlasting and enduring. The poem consists of ten stanzas with each one containing on octave. The rhyme scheme is fixed with every stanza consisting of end rhymes in the following scheme AABBCDDC. The meter of the poem is tricky as it often switches between iambic pentameter and trochaic pentameter. This reflects the gravitas of Yeat's thoughts and seriousness of his reflections. 

The poem is equal parts optimistic, equal parts worrying; it serves as a guide but also a warning and is all the way precarious in its tone. Some parts may be interpreted as outdated and misogynistic but at the end of the day it reflects genuine concern of a father towards his daughter's future.


 

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