When You Are Old

by W.B. Yeats

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

Published November 5, 2015

About the author

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years Yeats served as an Irish Senator for two terms. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He was the first Irishman so honored. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers who completed their greatest works after being awarded the Nobel Prize; such works include The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929).

Yeats was born and educated in Dublin but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth, and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and those slow paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley, as well as to the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life.
--from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Del Trigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

When You are Old (English)


When you are old and gray and full of sleep
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true;
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face.

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead,
And hid his face amid a crown of stars.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeats's "When You Are Old"
When You Are Old – (4/5) Without reading commentaries it would seem a love letter to the widow he would leave behind.
Romantic and emotive with grief and love. ****
“But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you..”

[Olivia Nahmias · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4 stars*
I listened to this read by Cillian Murphy and it was rather lovely.

[Britanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never clicked on a video faster than seeing the title “When You Are Old - W. B. Yeats read by Cillian Murphy”…do not threaten me with a good time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEHjB....

[Sindhu✩₊˚.⋆⁺₊✧✎ᝰ.⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio of this poem narrated by Cillian murphy. I just adore the way he read this.
It's about growing old with somebody you love.

[Yaya Maison · Rating 2 out of 5]

All because he couldn’t take no for an answer.

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➳ 4 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

a beautiful poem about love and the passing of time


୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆