The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner
W. B. Yeats
Theme:
In the poem "The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner" written by W.B Yeats, the speaker laments on the passing of his joyful youth. In the past, the speaker was young and he had a happy life. The poet remembers his youth and laments for the loss of it. So his friends and lovers followed him. He was happy to talk about love and politics. His past life only gives him agony because Time has turned him into ugly, weak and useless old man. Neither his friends nor any beauties follow him. He is jealous to see other young people who challenge any conspiracy and evils. So he is angry with Time and wants to spit in its face.
Interpretation
"The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner" written by W.B. Yeats, presents the speaker's reminiscences of his young life which become more painful when he contrasts his time of youth with his present old age. He laments on the passing of his joyful youth.
In the past, the speaker was young and he had a happy life. So his friends and lovers followed him. He was happy to talk about love and politics. His past life only gives him agony because Time has turned him into ugly, weak and useless old man. Neither his friends nor any beauties follow him. He is envious to see other young people who challenge any conspiracy and evils. This old man, who is forced away from politics and love, is still tormented by the passions of his youth for women and conversation. He thinks that his greater enemy is Time because it made him old and stole his physical beauty, power and beautiful lovers. Time stole his youthful vitality, energy and sexual power. He compares his old stage with the broken tree. Time robbed all his happiness from him because it transfigured him into an ugly, powerless, passionless, deformed and lonely old man. So, he shows his anger against Time and spits on the face of it.
Q .Why does the poet show his anger against time? [Model/065-3]
In this poem The lamentation of the old Pensioner, W. B. Yeats shows his anger against the time because it has given much pain to him. The cruel time has changed him from happy to sad, young to old, and energetic to weak. In the past he had many friends and beloveds, but the cruel time has made him old and alone. His romantic youth and his happiness is seased by the cruel time. It has made him as an old broken tree. Nobody likes to talk him in his old age due to generation gap. He could do nothing except to lament for the romantic past in his painful old age. So the poet want to spit on the face of time. He is very angry with the cruel time.
Q .Why and how does the old pensioner lament? [061-3]
Q. What is the speaker lamenting on? [062-3]
In this poem The lamentation of the old Pensioner, W. B. Yeats is lamenting for the loss of his romantic youth. He shows his anger against the time because it has given much pain to him. The cruel time has changed him from happy to sad, young to old, and energetic to weak. In the past he had many friends and beloveds, but the cruel time has made him old and alone. His romantic youth and his happiness is seased by the cruel time. It has made him as an old broken tree. Nobody likes to talk him in his old age due to generation gap. He could do nothing except to lament for the romantic past in his painful old age. So the poet wants to spit on the face of time. He is very angry with the cruel time. For that reason he is lamenting for his happy past in his painful old age.
Q .Why does the old man want to 'spit into the face of time'? [058-3]
In this poem the lamentation of the old Pensioner, W. B. Yeats wants to spit on the face of time because the cruel time has changed him an old man from his happy romantic youth. He shows his anger against the time because it has given much pain to him. The cruel time has changed him from happy to sad, young to old, and energetic to weak. In the past he had many friends and beloveds, but the cruel time has made him old and alone. His romantic youth and his happiness is taken by the cruel time. It has made him as an old broken tree. Nobody likes to talk him in his old age due to generation gap. He could do nothing except to lament for the romantic past in his painful old age. So, the poet wants to spit on the face of time.
Q .Mention any three things the old man laments about. Why is he sad about them? [059-3]
In this poem the poet or the old man is lamenting for his romantic past in his painful old age. He remembers his friends, his romantic days and those beauties he used to love them. He laments for those things in his old age because he is alone and he has nobody to talk. He feels himself as a useless broken tree. His friends used to talk about love and politics. He had many beauties that used to love him much. But now neither a single women looked at him.
Q. Explain the title of the poem.
The title of the poem the lamentation of the Old pensioner is very symbolic in meaning. W. B. Yeats compares his old age with a pensioner, a pensioner from a job, but from his life. He is lamenting for the loss of his youth. It means he laments for the loss of his youth happiness and energy in his very old age. An old man can do nothing except to remember his past. So the title is very appropriate to its theme.
Q. Summarize the poem in one sentence.
The poet W. B. Yeats compare his past to his present old age and laments for the loss of youth because the cruel time has made him from young to old and happy to sad.
Q.Write an essay on youth and Age
Youth and Age
Youth and age are the inseparable things. They are like the two sides of a same coin. Life is a journey from womb to tomb. A person has to cross different phases of life where if he lives a full life. A child of yesterday becomes a young today and old tomorrow. Eventually he or she disappears from the world and lives in his permanent home, the grave. So youth and old age are two sides of life. They are completely different but inseparable just like two sides of paper.
Youth is the most interesting and important phase of human life. A person becomes physically healthy and mentally sound in the phase. He or she becomes courageous to do any adventurous (risky) work. Youth is energetic and romantic too, young people keep interest in love and politics. Most of them don’t care about past and future but try to make the present perfect. They spend much time with friends in entertainment and creative activities too. If they make the best use of this phase, they can make their future bright. We find some young people misusing their time of youth and damaging their future.
Old age is rather miserable phase of human life. A person becomes physically weak and mentally forgetful. He or she spends much time at home remembering the happy days of his/her youth. He or she expects help from young people to do any work. He or she keeps interest not in romantic love but in family, love and religion. He or she wants to visit temples and so many other holy places. He or she likes to tell young people the story of young people according to his or her own experiences. However, unlike joyous youth, old age is bitter and painful. So, old people are very much passive, dull and pessimistic.
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Credit: Dr. Ramesh Adhikari Google
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