William Butler Yeats

1. William Butler Yeats • The Song of the Old Mother

2. Life Story • Born on the 13th of June 1865 in Sandymount, in the county of Dublin Ireland. His parents were John B. Yeats and Susan Mary Polbufen. Both his father and brother were famous painters but William chose to concentrate on literature, mainly poetry. • WB Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the principal figures in 20th century literature. • He was a pillar in the structure of both the Irish and British literary institutions. • In his later life William served as an Irish senator for two terms and this got William interested in the Irish history and culture, as well as the lower/ working classes and the poem’’ the Song of the Old Mother’’ is certainly from this social atmosphere. 2

3. I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow; And then I must scrub and bake and sweep Till stars are beginning to blink and peep; And the young lie long and dream in their bed Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head, And their days go over in idleness, And they sigh if the wind but lift a tress: While I must work because I am old, And the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold.

4. analysis • Subject: Natural cycle of life and death and old age. • Emotions/Mood: Jealousy of the idleness the young girls have that she never had. A bitterness for the obligation she has towards those kids. She’s perhaps even regretful she didn’t have the same idleness when she was young. • Techniques: Emjambment. Rhyming couplets, rhythm (of a song/ his inspiration), methaphor, repition, symbolism.

5. Lines 2&10 announce the beginning and the end of the poem but also symbolise the beginning and the end of the cycle of life; as the fire “flickers and glow” at the start of it’s life and “gets feeble and cold” at the end of it’s life. Also there is use of repetition in lines 2&10: “the seed of the fire” • In the poem the fire is used as a metaphor to symbolise life. • The use of “must” in lines 3&9 shows that the old mother feels her work is an obligation. The word “must” shows the urgency the old mother feels towards the work she has to finish before “the fire gets feeble and cold” (i.e. before she dies) • The poem is quite personal and reflective, as it’s written in the first person, you almost get the sense that she’s talking to herself even convincing herself to do her work. • “While I must work because I am old, And the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold” She has to work whilst she still has the time, whilst she still alive.? Might suggest that she has no money and has to feed her family whilst she still can care for them because she knows she’s old.

6. “ And their days go over in idleness,” This means that they do no work, they’re lazy. The use of plural (days) might imply that they spend their entire life in idleness. “And they sigh if the wind but lift a tress:” (metaphor & imagery) This is saying that the youngsters would not do the work themselves if it was not done for them by the old mother. The poem is set in a simple rhyme scheme which implies childish nursery rhymes.(WB Yeats inspired by Irish myth and folklore and his fascination for Irish peasantry) “And the young lie long and dream in their bed, Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head,” Suggests that the children care more about their appearances(ribbons) than the work the old mother has to do everyday. They show no worry for her and don’t appreciate what she does for them. Tone is bitter and wishful.

7. What philosophy of life is explored in the poem? 7

8. Going through the characters routine. The structure of the poem uses enjambment and rhymes this causes the rhythm to be quite slow, and sentences to flow together. This helps the reader to create imagery of the feeling of ‘The Old Mother’ W.B. Yeats emphasises on words, such as fire flicker and lie long, throughout the poem. When the character says ‘I must’ it used as an obligation, although she says ‘’because I am old ‘’. Which would make you think that it was either the way she was brought up or that the character is the mother of the children. And that would explain the title ‘The Song of The Old Mother’. Time frame The use of informal language is using the characters background of the lower/ working class and demonstrates the different use of language. • I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow • Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow; • And then I must scrub and bake and sweep • Tillstars are beginning to blink and peep; • And the young lie long and dream in their bed • Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head, • And their day goes over in idleness, • And they sigh if the wind but lift a tress: • WhileI must work because I am old, • And the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold The writer describes the way the younger generation moan whenever they have to do something whilst they live in idleness. W.B. Yeats uses figurative language to represent the character and create imagery. W.B. Yeats is comparing the character (i.e. the old woman) using the term ‘ While’ and the fact that it is at the beginning of a new stanza which makes it more powerful. And creates a flow in the rhythm of the poem. 8

9. The Character compares her life, of possibly being a mother from when the fire starts to when ‘ the fire gets feeble and cold.’, to the young girl. • I rise in the dawn, and I kneel and blow • Till the seed of the fire flicker and glow; • And then I must scrub and bake and sweep • Till stars are beginning to blink and peep; • And the younglie long and dream in their bed • Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head, • And their days go over in idleness, • And they sigh if the wind but lift a tress: • While I must work because I am old, • And the seed of the fire gets feeble and cold. When the writer talks about ribbons for bosom and head, this suggest that ‘the young’ are girls. They sigh when ever they have to do something which is describe using figurative language ( ‘ if the wind but lift a tress) 9

10. Structure I RISE in the dawn, and I kneel and blow A Till theseed of the fire flicker and glow; A And then I must scrub and bake and sweep B Till stars are beginning to blink and peep; B And the young lie long and dream in their bed C Of the matching of ribbons for bosom and head, C And their days go over in idleness, D And they sigh if the wind but lift a tress: D While I must work because I am old, E And theseed of the fire gets feeble and cold. E A half-rhyme between the first and last couplets (blow and cold) helps to ‘round off’ the poem, which both starts and finishes with the seed of the fire. The poem is written in rhyming couplets, the rhyme scheme is: AA BB CC DD EE.

11. Language The language used in The Song Of The Old Mother is very simplistic. It is conventional polite English with few words more than one syllable in length. This gives the suggestion that the woman had a simple, straightforward life and that the things that occupy her now are basic: "I must scrub and bake and sweep". However, the young women in the poem have nothing to worry about other than that off their appearance and the colour of the ribbon in their hair. The difference between the young women who live in idleness and the old woman is harsh and unfair. The title indicates that the woman is a Mother, but it is not clear whether "the young" she describes are her children or not. It is possible that the word "Mother" is just an affectionate name for an old woman, and that she has no children - or that her children have grown up and left her alone. If so, is she perhaps reminded of her own daughters when she sees the young women?