Poem A prayer for my daughter
An introduction and occasion of the poem
A prayer for my daughter is an intensely personal poem. Written in 1919, a few weeks after Yeats daughter Anne was born, this poem speaks about the anxiety felt for the well-being of his daughter as also about the anxiety shared by all fathers all over the world torn by war and greed. He thinks how his daughter will face the coarse and vulgar world. He imagines the war drums which forecast the struggle for survival. He thinks that the cruelty of man is more dangerous than the murderous innocence of the sea. He believes that she can protect herself by cultivating virtues of nobility and courtesy. He prays that his daughter should have beauty but not vanity. He wants his daughter to have happy and innocent thoughts in her mind. She should scatter her happiness all around. Her soul should flourish like a flourishing tree. He wants his daughter to be free from hatred and to shun strong or stubborn opinion on any subject – political or otherwise. He wants innocence to replace hatred. It will give inner peace to his daughter. He wishes his daughter to get married in a good aristocratic family and lead a happy life.
Summary of the poem
The poet expresses deep concern for his infant daughter who sleeps in a cradle. The roof-levelling strong wind is blowing outside. She is well covered and protected from the onslaughts of violent wind. He paces up and down and prays for the well-being of his daughter. The strong wind makes the poet gloomy. He thinks how his daughter will face the coarse and vulgar world. He imagines the war drums which forecast ht struggle for survival. He thinks that the cruelty of man is more dangerous that the murderous innocence of the sea. She must protect herself by a shield. The shield stands for qualities and virtues. So the poet wants his daughter to be virtuous and good. The poet prays that his daughter should have beauty and not vanity. Helen, the most beautiful woman, eloped with Prince Paris of troy and this resulted in the destruction of troy. Similarly, Aphrodite (Venus) married Hephaestus, the lame blacksmith of the gods, unwisely and betrayed him later on. Maud Gonne (the poet’s beloved) married a worthless man MacBride and remained unhappy. Thus, the poet wants his daughter to inculcate the virtues of courtesy and humility. The heats of people can be won by courtesy. Even those who are not very beautiful can win the hearts of others by showing courtesy. Virtues in a woman are more important than physical beauty.
The poet wants his daughter to have happy and innocent thoughts in her mind. She should scatter her happiness all round. Her soul should flourish like a flourishing tree which gives comforts to all. He considers hatred as the worst of all evils. So he prays that his daughter should be free from this evil. If the person does not entertain hatred, no misfortunes can possible ruin his happiness. Then he thinks that intellectual hatred is the worst kind of hatred. It is the worst flaw in a person’s character. So he wants his daughter to shun strong or stubborn opinions on any subject – political or otherwise. The poet says that Maud Gonne, an extremely beautiful woman, wasted her aristocratic traditions in political arguments. If hatred is replaces by innocence, it can bring happiness to all. It will give inner peace to his daughter.
The poet wishes that his daughter gets married in a good aristocratic family which observes traditional manners and courtesies. Hatred and arrogance will have no place in that family. Arrogance and hatred are the traits of masses. Beauty and innocence come from established traditions. His love for traditional aristocratic values is reflected in the poem. He wants his daughter to follow the traditional norms and values.
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