“当你老了”叶芝分析WinniePuMr.BrownLiterature1OH+(B)April8thTheManWhoLoveThePilgrimSoulinYouAlmostallpoetsandwritersenjoyconnectinglovewithbeautyandyouth.Bythetimepeopleisunderthewarmthoflove,adesiretorefusechangesandthepassoftimewouldoccurintheirhearts・Whileeveryonewantstoswitchtheenjoyablemomentintoaneternity,WilliamButlerYeatschoosestowriteapoemtodepicttheseenethatanattractivegirlisinthetwilightofheryears・Thepoem"WhenYouAreOlcTisthespecialone.Forayoungladythatisrightnowenjoyingheryouthandbeauty,thewordsfromthepoemmaybetoocruelforher;whilethespeakerinthepoemjusttriestousethislawofnaturetoprovehislovethatcanresistthecorrosiveinflueneeoftime・Thewholepoememploysproperrhymescheme,aninnovativeimaginationaswellassymbolsandasharpcontrasttoshowthespeaker'sdeeplovetowardtheyoungladyandmovethereadersbythegrievedandhopelessbutunrepentantemotionsofthespeaker.ThenovelsounddevicesofWhenYouAreOldcanfirstcatchtheeyesofreadersbyitsiambicpentameterandspondee・Forthewhole
poem,thefirstandfourthlinesrhyme,aswellasthesecondandthirdlines,thisgivesthepoemawell・designedtempotoread・Byusingtheword"and"sixtimesinthefirststanza,thepoetshowshispredispositiontoassistinkeepingthepoemmetered・Thepoemismainlyaniambicpentameterzbutatsomekeypartsofthepoem,itswitchesintospondeewhichmeanstohavetwostressedsyllablesinmeters・Thischangeleadstoacompletelydifferenteffectamongthesentences・Themostingeniousonethatthepoetcreatesistheword"pilgrim"."Pilgrim"meansapersonwhojourneystoasacredplaceforreligiousreasonsaccordingtothedictionary,whilethespeakerindicateshimselfasthe"manlovedthepilgrimsoul"inhislover,sothat"pilgrim"isemployedasanadjectivetodescribethepiousanddevoutsouloftheyounglady(7).TheusageofspondeemakesthepronunciationofbeingtensedGrim",definingasforbiddingoruninviting,enablesthereadertofeelthecomplicatedemotioninthespeaker'sheart・Heappreciatesthelady'sdedicatedsoul,buthecomplainsobscurelyaboutherholdingaheartofstonetowardhislove・Ergo,therhymescontributesublimelytothepoem.Theboldimaginationandsymbolsofthewholepoemalsomakesreadersfeelthecreativityofthepoet・Fromthebeginningofthepoem,"Whenyouareoldandgreyandfullofsleep,Andnoddingbythefire,takedownthisbook/thepoetstarttosupposeasenileanddodderingseene⑴2).Readersimmediatelyfollowthepoetanddepictanimageintheirbrainthatbesideagloomyfireplace,thefireshinesthefaceoftheoldlady;andinthisquitebutalittlebitcoldenvironment,shespendsherrestlifewithatiringandlonelyheart.Thespeakerusesalivelyimaginationtodescribetheseenewhenthegirlhelovesstepsintoherelderlylifeandnobodyelselovesheranymorebecauseofthedisappearsneeofherbeautyexceptforthe
speakerhimself.Thedescriptiongivesreadersalargeareatoimagineandshowstheloyaltyofthespeaker.Alsointhethirdstanza,thetwosymbolsof"mountains"and"stars"addmoreemotionalappealstothepoem・"Mountains"hadthemeaningoftenaciouswhichsymbolizesthehardloveforthespeaker."Stars"meanseternity,whichmeansthelovefromthespeakerwilllastforeverfortheladynomattersheisbeaut讦ulornot.Thelasttwolinesofthepoemisthetwomostfantasticandproperimaginationofthepoem.Inthemountainsoverhead,andinthecrowdedstars,thespeakerstillloveshisloverwishingshecangainhereternallove・Thespeaker'sloveisacarolthatcanbesungbylatergenerationswhichisnotrestrictedbytime.Themostpowerfulpartandthemostdirectpartofthepoemshowingtheloveisthecontrastinthesecondstanza.Thenumeralpronoun"howmany"and"oneman"formacontrastserveasafoilthatthespeakerlovesnotonlytheappearsneebutalsotheheartandthoughtsofthewoman"Butonemanlovedthepilgrimsoulinyou,andlovedthesorrowsofyourchangingface〃⑺8).z'Momentsofgladgrace"aswellas"thesorrowsofyourchangingface"formanotherconflictthattheyounggirlwouldsometimeturnsoldandherbeautywouldsomedayfadeawaybecauseofthelawofnature・Thespeakerusesthistoprovethathisloveisdifferentfromtheothers・Tilltodaythesentence"lovethepilgrimsoul"isstillthemostpowerfulandromanticprofession.Inthispoemwhatsetaquestionontimeandlove,thespeakeremploysthiscontrasttodeliverhisownthoughtsofloveandemotion.Thepoem"Whenyouareold"doesnotineludeanysublimefloweryIanguage,buthidesboundlessfeelingsandemotionsbehindit.Theemotionaltrackthatthespeakerholdsislikeaflowingstream,firstflowatagreatspeed,andthenfeedsintoalargeriverandfinallydisappearscalmlyintheocean.Howeverunderthecalmoceanlevel,theremustberoaring
waveswhichburiesallhishopeanddisappointmentanddespair.Anyoneofthoseyoungheartswouldneverwanttofacethetruthoffaxingold,death,wrinklesandgrayhair;itissuchaheavymentality.Whilethespeakerstandsattheothersideofthetimeriver,andnarratesthestoryinakindlyandinformalfashion,imagingthesituationwhentheyturnsoldandnearlytodeath,heexpresseshisdeeplovethoroughly.Thethemeofthepoemisthemostpowerfulclaimtomakethepoemdimensional:thediffereneebetweentherealityandthefrictionalloveinthespeaker'sheart.Thepoetwantsthefrictionallovesothatslightthetruthofbeingignoredintherealitysincetheloveintherealityisthemostfragilestaff,loveintheimaginationisthemostenduring.Moreimportantly,thespeakertellsreadersfromhisownunderstandingoflovetoanexperieneethatallhumanbeingssharesothatherealizethesupervisionofindividualtowardtheworld・