PRAYER FOR
MY DAUGHTER
A prayer for my Daughter
In the
beginning, Yeats talks about the storm having commenced brewing in the seas.
Between his newly born daughter and the sea, there stand a bare hill and
Gregory’s woods which might not thwart the storm from reaching the helpless
infant. The father is naturally worried as he sense the gale striking the tower
and the undersides of the bridges. To his mind, the stormpresages the future of
her daughter having arrived with a rage, mounting from the seeming innocence of
the sea. As a father the poet wishes beauty for her daughter but not such
voluptuousness that would engross others to distraction or make her vain.
He does not want her daughter to be bereft of
kindness nor does he want her to fail in choosing the person with whom she will
be friendly. The father shudders at the thought of her daughter’s turning to be
another Helen of troy who couldn’t help being unfaithful as she was so
beautiful. Some lovely women like the queen who had not had her father imposing
useful restrains upon her, chose an ordinary smith with warped legs, instead of
marrying a handsome yet virtuous man matching her handsome looks and social
standing. It is strange how exquisitely beautiful women often choose ‘a crazy
salad’ to go with their meat.
His daughter
should realize that she should be deserving of winning human hearts. She should
not be like those crafty women who employ their advantage. It is true that men
fall head over heels for stunning females but it is really the compassion of
the women which they get enamored by in the end. The father in the poem is keen
that her daughter should be like a tree giving succor and shade to people when
she grows up and her feelings should be like the sweet song of the linnet that
spread joy for the sake of doing so. It is very likely that she will sometimes
desire something intensely in a wrong spirit or engage in some strife at times
but let them be transient and not very serious. Let her be like an evergreen
tree; let her send her roots into the depth of her good convictions standing at
the same place.
The poet is
sorry that his running after the people he liked or the kind of gorgeousness
that he was infatuated with, could not satiate him as he wanted and that he is
weary of all the barrenness that has enveloped him now. He seems to get momentarily
confused as to what could be the right sort of beauty. He has however no hatred
toward anyone as he is absolutely sure that it is the worst kind of wickedness
that could poison his life. He wants her daughter also to learn this truth
before she allows her to be ruled by the negative force of hatred because such
a mindset will save her from inviting harsh criticism or abuses beings showered
upon her to practicing intellectual dislike which the poet considers to be the
worst of problem in a human being.
He
recollects coming in close contact with a-beautiful and accomplished women who
had to give away everything by being strongly biased. The truth rings clearly
in the poet’s mind that removing all hatred from one’s mind, the soul not only
regains its innocence but also embarks on the journal of delighting in itself.
Since the spirit of the soul is the will of god, he fervently prays that his
daughter should be able to discover her soul and be happy in the face of any
storm or disapproval. And finally, as a father, he hopes that she will be
engaged to a man who has foe ever steered away from detestation and arrogance
which is so common everywhere, let the house of her husband be comfortable and
secure but not at the expense of anyone.
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