For Anne Gregory By William Butler Yeats
This poem is a conversation between a young and a young woman. what are they arguing about?
“Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”
“But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,
Brown, or black, or carrot,
That young men in despair
May love me for myself alone
And not my yellow hair.”
“I heard an old religious man
But yesternight declare
That he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS
For Anne Gregory Summary
Explanation of the Poem
Stanza 1
“Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”
Explanation
The poem starts with the speaker addressing Anne Gregory. The speaker says that her beautiful honey-coloured hair can make any man fall in love with her. This love is not for Anne but for her beautiful features. Anne’s gorgeous hair have been compared to walls, symbolising outer beauty that prevents anyone from looking inside her soul. This beauty can capture any man’s attention so that they may never be able to look beyond that beauty and into Anne’s character. This is what makes the speaker believe that no man can love Anne, for what she is, without her beauty. One can love her only for her beautiful yellow hair and her beauty.
Stanza 2
“But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,
Brown, or black, or carrot,
The young men in despair
May love me for myself alone
And not my yellow hair.”
Explanation
In the second stanza, Anne replies to the speaker of the first stanza. She says that what is visible from the outside is very superficial and not important. She gives an example of her beautiful hair, that she can change the colour of her hair and dye them in black, brown or carrot. Just like the color of her hair is changeable, outer beauty of any kind is changeable and hence not true. She wants to tell the speaker that anyone falling in love with her must see the actual person behind the beauty. Anne thinks that young men, who fall in love with her, must lover her for what she is and not for her yellow hair or outward appearance.
Stanza 3
“I heard an old religious man
But yesternight declare
The he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”
Explanation
In the third and final stanza of the poem, the speaker replies to Anne’s statement about love for internal and not for external beauty. The speaker mentions an old religious man, who announced that he had found a text in which it is written that only is God is capable of looking beyond external beauty. Here speaker means that humans do not have the depth and understanding to look inside the soul of a person. Humans are always carried away by the shine and glitter of outer beauty and they never care to know the person behind the beautiful appearance. Therefore, the speaker concludes that only God can love Anne only for herself and not her beauty.
Central Idea of Poem
The poem ‘For Anne Gregory’ by William Butler Yeats is about the perception of love by different people. The poem is in the form of a dialogue between two people, Anne Gregory and another speaker, whose identity has not been made clear by the poet. Therefore it could be anyone; Anne’s lover or a friend or the poet himself.
The poem shows the true nature of the humans as they are always carried away by the outer beauty which is insignificant, and never pay attention to the true nature of the person. Men always judge women by their outward appearance alone but beauty exists within us and not outside.
Poetic Devices Used in the Poem
Metaphor : A device which compares two things or qualities which are unlike.
- honey colored ramparts
Alliteration : Repetition of initial consonant sounds in the same line.
- And not your yellow hair
Rhyme Scheme
- abcbdb
Word Meanings
despair : hopelessness
ramparts : lock of hair around ear
hair-dye : colour used for hair
yesternight : last night
declare : to announce
text : written material
Questions and Answers
NCERT Solutions
Thinking about the Poem (Page 141)
Question 1 : What does the young man mean by “great honey-coloured/ Ramparts at your ear?” Why does he say that young men are “thrown into despair” by them?
Answer : The young man in the poem praises the great honey-coloured hair of Anne. Anne’s hair have been called rampart, meaning a wall. It is called so because they act as a wall, as they prevent young men from looking beyond those yellow hair and into her soul. He hair are so attractive that young men cannot look at anything else. Anne’s yellow hair are so pretty that young men hopelessly fall in love with her and feel despair. It is not possible that someone would love her alone and not her yellow hair.
Question 2 : What colour is the young woman’s hair? What does she say she can change it to? Why would she want to do so?
Answer : Anne’s hair are yellow, like the colour of honey. She says that she can change it to black , brown or carrot; she means that she can change it to any color she wants. Anne says so to show that outer beauty is changeable and not permanent or real. She wants young men to look into her soul and lover her for her inner beauty. In order to do so, she needs to show them the superficiality of her external beauty.
Question 3 : Objects have qualities that make them desirable to others. Can you think of some objects ( a car, a phone, a dress…) and say what qualities make one object more desirable than another? Imagine you were trying to sell an object: what qualities would you emphasise?
Answer : People desire objects because of their qualities that suit their needs. The things we consume, goods we use such as a car, a phone, a dress etc. physical qualities matter the most. Before buying anything, it is always considered that the object is durable and looks pretty.
If I were to sell a dress, I would select the one that is very appealing to the eye and comfortable for the body. I would emphasise on the durability of the dress so that the customer feels that he/she is pending his/her money at the right place and in the right thing.
Question 4 : What about people? Do we love others because we like their qualities, whether physical or mental? Or is it possible to love someone “for themselves alone”? Are some people ‘more lovable’ than others?
Discuss this question in pairs or in groups, considering points like the following.
i) A parent or caregiver’s love for a newborn baby, for a mentally or physically challenged child, for a clever child or a prodigy
ii) The public’s love for a film star, a sportsperson, a politician, or a social worker.
iii) Your love for a friend, or brother or sister
iv) Your love for a pet, and the pet’s love for you.
Answer : The students should attempt on their own.
Question 5 : You have perhaps concluded that people are not objects to be valued for their qualities or riches rather than for themselves. But elsewhere Yeats asks the question: How can we separate the dancer from the dance? Is it possible to separate ‘the person himself or herself’ from how the person looks, sounds, walks and so on? Think of how you or a friend or member of your family has changed over the years. Has your relationship also changed? In what way?
Answer : The students should attempt on their own.
Extra Questions
Extract Based Questions
Read the following extracts carefully and choose the correct option.
Question 1 :
“Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”
i) The poet tells that young men love Anne for her…………
a) beautiful looks
b) personality
c) sweet nature
d) honey coloured hair
ii) What is the colour of Anne’s hair?
a) Black
b) Brown
c) Honey coloured
d) Grey
iii) What does the word rampart meant here?
a) A wall
b) A boundary
c) A parapet
d) Lock of hair
iv) What does the word despair mean?
a) Hurt
b) Hopelessness
c) Frustration
d) Anguish
Answer :
i) b) beautiful looks
ii) c) honey coloured
iii) d) Lock of hair
iv) b) Hopelessness
Question 2 :
“But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,
Brown, or black, or carrot,
That young men in despair
May love me for myself alone
And not my yellow hair.”
i) Who is the speaker of these lines?
a) The poet
b) Anne Gregory
c) Some young men
d) None of these
ii) Why does Anne want to change her hair colour?
a) To attract others
b) To avoid other’s attraction
c) To show external beauty is not real
d) None of the above
iii) What does Anne want in reality?
a) Someone who loves her for her real self
b) Avoid people who are drawn to her outer beauty
c) To live alone
d) To find a suitable life partner
iv) What is the rhyming scheme of the poem?
a) aaab
b) abcbdb
c) aabbcc
d) aabcbc
Answer :
i) b) Anne Gregory
ii) c) To show external beauty is not real
iii) a) Someone who loves her for her real self
iv) b) abcbdb
Question 3 :
“I heard an old religious man
But yesternight declare
That he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”
i) Who is the poet of the poem?
a) Ogden Nash
b) WB Yeates
c) Walt Whitman
d) Card Sandburg
ii) What is the subject of this poem?
a) Beauty is temporary
b) Inner beauty is more important
c) Humans are drawn to external beauty only
d) All of the above
iii) Who found a ‘text’?
a) The poet
b) Anne Gregory
c) An old religious man
d) A young man
iv) Find a word from the passage which is an antonym of ‘conceal or hide’.
a) Proclaim
b) Declare
c) Mention
d) Raise
Answer :
i) b) WB Yeates
ii) c) humans are drawn to external beauty only
iii) c) An old religious man
iv) b) Declare
Short Questions and Answers
Question 1 : Between Whom does the conversation in the poem take place?
Answer : The poem is a conversation between Anne and the another speaker,who could be the poet himself,or Anne’s lover or friend.The other speaker believes that young men love Anne for her external beauty but Anne says that external beauty is not real and young men should love her for herself.
Question 2 : What does the poet mean by,”those great honey-coloured ramparts at your ear”?
Answer : Ramparts here refer to locks of Anne’s beautiful yellow hair and external beauty that hides her soul and true nature and lets other people see only her outer self.The women’s honey-coloured hair attract many young men.
Question 3 : Why do young men love Anne for her hair and not for herself alone?
Answer : Anne Gregory is so beautiful that no man is capable of ignoring her external beauty and looking inside her real nature.Her attractive external features stop men from knowing the real person.This is what that makes the speaker say that young men love Anne for her hair and not for herself alone.
Long Questions and Answers
Question 1 : The poet in the poem ‘For Anne Gregory’ conveys that we should give importance to the inner beauty and not the physical appearance. Elaborate with reference to the poem.
Answer : In the conversation that takes place between Anne Gregory and another speaker, the poet has tried to show that inner beauty is real beauty whereas physical appearance is changeable and hence, unimportant. The first speaker says to Anne that young men love her for her beautiful yellow hair and may never love her for what she really is. To this, Anne replies that her hair-colour can be changed into black, brown or carrot, meaning that external beauty is all superficial and men should not love her for that. Through Anne’s reply, the poet has made clear his preference for internal beauty over physical appearance.
Question 2 : God does not love a person for his/her outer appearance but for the person himself. Elaborate.
Answer : God does not love any person for his/her out appearance and riches. Human beings pay attention to material things. To prove this, the pot/speaker mentioned about a text found by an old religious man that proves that only God can love a person for himself/herself. We should not expect the same from human beings. Human beings prefer to see only outward beauty. The speaker tells that only God can be so great as to avoid external beauty and look beyond it. Man, on the other hand, falls for the things that appear pretty from outside and never bothers about what lies inside. The poet wants to say that it is a truth since time immemorial that men can not easily judge women on anything other than their looks.