The poem “ When you are old” refers to the woman that William Butler Yeats loved. In the poem, he describes his unconditionally love to her. He is telling her that even though she has grown and her hair has become grey. His love for her still the same, because when he loved her was not just because of her beauty but for her soul. In the middle of the poem, he mentioned that many other men also were in love with her but were only for her beauty when she was young. He is trying to show her the difference between the way he loved her and the way others loved her. The purpose of this poem is to show her that no matter how much she changes or grows his love for her will always grow more and he will be there for her.
2 thoughts on ““When you are old””
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I completely agree with your point about how love and beauty are not solely based on physical attributes. In the poem, the speaker addresses his beloved and asks her to look ahead into the future, when she is old and not surrounded by lovers who only love her because of her beauty. This is because love and youthful beauty will eventually fade away when one grows older and therefore, they should enjoy their younger years.
I agree with you about Yeats showing the difference between how he loves the girl and how others love her, as shown in the second stanza of the poem. Yeats wrote this poem for the girl to understand that his love for her is unique compared to the rest of the guys who only loved her for her beauty. He also wants the girl to know that in the future, when she is old, she might be loved by many guys anymore, but there is still one who will be.