Chapter - 3

The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner

W.B Yeats

Summary of the poem

The poem, “The Lamentation of the old pensioner” has been composed by W.B Yeats. He is a famous Irish poet and dramatist. This poem is a revised version of its earlier poem, “The Old Pensioner”. In this poem, the poet compares his youth with his present state of the old age.

At present, the poet has become old and he feels so, weak that he compares his life with a broken tree. As a broken tree looks ugly without having green leaves and branches, similarly the poet also has lost his physical charm and strength and has turned into an ugly and weak old man. When he was young, he discussed love and politics sitting beside the fire among his friends. The fire indicates challenges here. This means he was so brave that he could face many challenges and difficult situations in his life without hesitation. But at present, he has become old and has lost his confidence and bravery that even rain can trouble him. Rain indicates the insecure environment of the surrounding due to the beginning of the Second World War.

The poet feels unhappy because things are completely different now he is angry with the time according to him, time is mercy less and cruel. It binds the hands and feet of everyone. Although he still remembers those beautiful women whom he had loved in his past.

In the mid stanza of the poem, the poet talks about the young generation and their conspiracy. He criticizes the youth because they have been involved in making weapons. He knows that this will definitely bring a kind of conflict and tyranny in human civilization. The poet expresses his grief because he can do nothing in his old age to save humanity.