The Theme Of Love In When You Are Old By William Butler Yeats

Introduction

An anonymous narrator request the narrator of this poem to write of a lover that he had in the past to remember her youth and how he loved here. In the poem “When You Are Old” by William Butler Yeats, the author reveals that the central idea is the love for a woman a man had but the woman never loved him back. The author expresses the theme of this poem through tone, diction and poetic devices.

The tone helps the reader understand the poem’s theme and emotions. He helps communicate the tone of the poem through his choice of words. In the first stanza, the tone seems to be calm and cozy because when the author quotes; “And nodding by the fire, take down this book”. Following, the second stanza states a more romantic tone. The author is trying to say that he out of all of the men loved her truly for how she was. He expresses this by the use of words. Finally, the third stanza communicates a more sad tone. The author is trying to express how “love fled” and how he is at his last moments and because she didn’t love him back in his youth she will feel remorse.

The au...