葉芝詩集

Theappreciationof“WhenYouAreOld”

Thispoemchoosfromthepoetry"ro"of

Yeats,whichiswrittenin1893,itisoneofthe

reprentativeearlyworksofYeats,addressto

hisheartgoddess,whoisalsothemostimportant

womaninhislife.

“Whenyouareoldandgrayandfullofsleep,

andnoddingbythefire”,thepoetstartswith

apencillikepaintingapicturewhichinterlaces

theshadowwithlight,novividcolor,

atmosphericbackgroundandlingering

characters’move,onlyaquietlifefabricofold

ghatthistime,Yeatswasonly29,his

loverwasonly27yearsold,butthe"whitehead",

"Sleepgiddy","snoozingbythefire",asimple

image,butlettimerapidlymoveforthtothe

time,shelostthecharming

appearance,lostfreshyouth;maybethereaders

can'thelpasking:whatkindofemotionisthe

poetforheratthattime.“Takedownthisbook,

andslowlyread,anddreamofthesoftlook;your

eyeshadonce,andoftheirshadowsdeep”,very

fewwords,thepoetleadherexperiencehisdeep

ldwomantolookbackmay

emtobecruelandthegapbetweenofthe

his

gap,thepoetgraduallyrecognizesthefirmlove,

whichlikesanunexpectedgift,

thegentlestreamarestartingtoflowfromthe

icebergandmeltingslowlyoutofit,withthe

hugesource,whichisalongprocess.

Theconceptionoftheoriginalwholepoemin

thefirststanzadescribesthatanoldwomanlooks

love

Perhapsitisonlytheonewhoisreally

experiencedthatkindofrealemotioncanhave

matterhow,thememoryofloveisthesweetestand

mostoftendoeswhenheorsheisoldjustaswhat

iswritteninthepoem,beautyisold,the

appearanceisgone,andsheissittingbythefire

andstartsreviewingthepastlove.

“Howmanylovedyourmomentsofgladgrace,

andlovedyourbeautywithlovefalortrue;But

onemanlovedthepilgrimsoulinyou,andloved

thesorrowsofyourchangingface”,sincethe

poemhasalreadyopened,thefeelingofthepoet

hasbeenreadslowly,aftersolongtrial,he

can'twaittocontrastwithotheradmirer,and

expresshisstrongfeelinginhisheart,whichhas

's"falortrue"

haspasdthroughherlonglife,whilehislove

toherpilgrim'ssoul,sweetandsad,inafew

thofloveletpoetcouldnolonger

tellcarefully,finallyhesorrowsunbearably,

andcompareshimlftotheonlyperson

passionatelyandproudly;"Onlyaman"isthemost

interesttoherpursues,beyondtime,spaceand

cular.

Ofcourafterunderstandingtheheroineof

thepoetry,thereaderiasytoknowthatshe

isafreemovementwarrior,sheandYeatshasthe

commonidealandpursuit,thatisthestrugglefor

’smore,Yeatsis

alsoapoetwhoposssmysticism,romanticand

time,thestreamofloveas

ifthefloodinthevalley,fastbutstilllonely.

Thethinkingoftheloveisawakeningslowlyin

thememory,facingsocrazyprofession,she

shouldjoyorgrieve

Thispoemisdeepenedinthefinalction.

“Andbendingdownbesidetheglowingbars,

murmur,alittlesadly”,theshakingfireshines

uponthewitheredappearance;thescreenisvague

withlightandshade,sothatreaderscan'thelp

imaginingtheoldwoman’ourning

thefleetingofyouth,orthetwiningofloveOnce

letpoet’feelingburyingintime,thepast

eventsinthetimecan'tbechad,onlythe

memoriescangivesomeconsolations.“Howlove

fledandpaceduponthemountainsoverhead,and

hidhisfaceamidacrowdofstars.”Withthetime

goes,whichtouchedtheoldwomansomuch,love

isalsometsubquentlyslipawayNo,thereis

suchakindoflove,itremains,itisjustnot

beresponded,anditcan'tfinditshabitats,but

itisveryclingingtosurvive,orsteppingonthe

mountaintop,orimpalinginthestars.

Thepoet'slove,isnotaccepted,issweet

torment,andhateiswovenintotheforever

time,theemotionalstreamhas

cometotheestuarysoftly,goingtotheocean,

andsinkingintothedeepend,whosurfaceis

ologue,endlessmilesoffaithful

attitude,endlessgrievanceandinjusticeofthe

poet,theallreturntothesilentwaitingin

y,theloveasiftheloftyand

coldstarsonthetop,whichhavethe

insurmountabledistance,butneverfailstostare

duringlovemaypuzzlethereaders,

theystillneedtopackuptheirheartagainand

san

everlastinganddivinethemetolove,makingthe

readerfeelthegreatlovesuddenly,andthe

readertobeaffected

byboththentimentalandtheencouraging,

maybethereisakindoftruelovewhichisnoneed

toown,however,italsotoughexistsandhasbeen

around!

Loveistheentireofthispoem;thewhole

poemusthesimplelanguagelevel,butifyou

readcarefully,thereemstobeamysterious

eandthe

persistentofthepoet,thesadorhappyofthe

poet,nomatterhowourreadersorthetranslators

whomightfeelthefallinloveofthefeelingcan

ingthis

poeminthisfashion,thenarratorcouldpossibly

hopetoachieveeitherofthefollowing:thewoman,

onceold,willrememberthedayswhenshewas

youngwithhappinessbutgrowregretfulthatshe

didnottakeadvantageofhislove,orthewoman,

intheprent,willewhatanopportunityshe

ismissingbyignoringhisloveforherand

leavinghimtofadeintothepast.