Summary
Summary
Short – Questions
1. Why does the old man want to 'spit into the face of time'?
2. Mention the three things the old man laments about. Why is he sad
about them?
3. How and why does the Old Pensioner lament?
4. What is the speaker lamenting on?
5. Why does the poet show his anger against time?
6. Explain the significance of the refrain in the poem.
7. Give the main idea of the poem “Lamentation of the Old Pensioner”.
8. Write a short paragraph comparing old people to young people.
Or,
What are the difference between old man and young man?
Long – Question
1. Write an essay on Youth and Age.
2. The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner
W. B. Yeats
Characters
Old pensioner - speaker
His friends - in his youth
Theme : We will harvest in old age what we have sown in our youth.
Summary
The poem is spoken from the point of view of an old man who looks upon the political and romantic passion of the young Irish. He suggests that once upon a time he too “talked of love and politics” but that now, with his age perspective, his thoughts rest on Time and eternal questions. In the final stanza, we learn that these meditations are not pleasant, as he suggests that no woman pay him attention due to his age, thought he still recalls the women he once loved. The poem ends as he curses Time, which has changed him from young to old.
The speaker of the poem is no longer a young man but an old pensioner who can but only thinks how beautiful the youth was. In his youth, he used to sit round the fire with his friends and they used to talk of love or politics. The young people, even now, are engaged in warfare and struggle to fight against the human tyranny. However, the speaker’s attention is, deeply focused on Time man (broken tree). Therefore, at the best, he can only remember and express his sorrow for that passing youth, strength, enthusiasm and beauty. The title is suitable because it states the condition of the speaker (an old pensioner) and what the poem is about lamentation.
In short
In the poem "The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner" the poet describes his pitiable present state. He compares his past and present and finds that his past was better than the present. In the past he sat among his friends and talked about love and politics. There were many girls who loved him. But in the present he is old, weak and he looks ugly. Young people tease and torture him. No girls look at him and love him. He thinks that time is responsible for his present condition. So he hates time and spits into the face of time.
Short – Questions
1. Why does the old man want to 'spit into the face of time'?
In this poem, the time made the poet old. In his old age he has completely lost his energy, power and beautiful lovers of his youth. Now, he is alone. The cause of the loss of everything is time. He thinks that time is very cruel. Time is his enemy. Due to the time his old age is more pitiable. Therefore, he shows his anger against time and spits on the face of it.
2. Mention the three things the old man laments about. Why is he sad
about them?
The speaker of the poem is an old man. He remembers his past beautiful days. His past was more beautiful than present, because of the time he lost everything. The three things the old man lament on, are as follow; first, he laments that he is alone. No one is with him for his care. Second, no beautiful ladies look at him and love him now. Third, everybody hates him. He is neglected by his relatives. So, he becomes sad and curses the time which is the main cause of all his loss.
3. How and why does the Old Pensioner lament?
The Old Pensioner laments when he compares his young life with old. His condition now is very miserable. He becomes angry with the time because time changed him from young to old. His past was romantic. He used to talk of love and politics. Many beautiful girls loved him. But now no one look at him. His relatives hate too. So, he curses and spits into the face of time and laments.
4. What is the speaker lamenting on?
W. B. Yeats describes his pitiable condition in 'The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner'. The speaker is an old man now. So, he is lamenting on his pitiable condition, loss of beautiful ladies, being neglected from his own relatives, loss of power, energy and physical weakness and ugliness. He curses and spits on time to making him ugly, old and penniless.
5. Why does the poet show his anger against time?
In this poem, the time made the poet old. In his old age he has completely lost his energy, power and beautiful lovers of his youth. Now, he is alone. The cause of the loss of everything is time. He thinks that time is very cruel. Time is his enemy. Due to the time his old age is more pitiable. Therefore, he shows his anger against time and spits on the face of it.
6. Explain the significance of the refrain in the poem.
A refrain is a line, or part of a line, or a group of lines, which is repeated in the course of a poem, sometimes with minor changes, and usually at the end of each stanza. This is a poetic device. It is used by most poets in order to create special emotional and artistic effect. In this poem, ‘This has transfigured me’ is the refrain. A refrain may help to establish the meter of the poem, point out its tone or re – establish its impression. This refrain has a considerable effect in the sense that it crates seriousness in the poem and highlights the sense of loss which is deeply experienced in the retired life. Thus the refrain repeatedly expresses the speaker’s fury for time.
7. Give the main idea of the poem “Lamentation of the Old Pensioner”.
We will harvest in old age what we have sown in our youth is the main idea of this poem. The poet describes his pitiable condition in the poem. The speaker is an old with pitiable condition, and being neglected from his own relatives. He loses his power, energy. His physical weakness and ugliness makes him sad. All it happens due to his own carefree behaviour. He waste his youth and now he is in worst condition.
8. Write a short paragraph comparing old people to young people.
Or,
What are the difference between old man and young man?
We can see vast differences between an old man and a young man. Physically the old are thin, helpless, sick, powerless, and weak. He is passive. He has white hair and white beard. There are many wrinkles and folds on the face. He has bad eyesight and many past memories. He seems to be sad and unsatisfied. But on the other hand the young are interested in different things. He has a strong body. He is active. He has more energy, strength, power and force. He seems to be happy and satisfied. He is careless to the time. His soul is weak. He is always hopeful for his future that may not be fulfilled. Young people are more ambitious than old one.
Long – Question
1. Write an essay on Youth and Age. [2060]
Youth and Age are two sides of life just like two sides of a coin. Human life is a long journey in which we face so many ups and downs. Life starts with the babyhood and as the child is raised he / she is matured, enjoys youth, becomes adult and grows old.
When we are young, we are full of spirit (feeling of doing something), strength and will power. This is the most creative and productive period of human life. For a self confident, courageous youth, nothing is impossible. Similarly, for a youthful person, everything is beautiful and full of lights. During this period, we travel to many places. We make friends, we fall in love. In youth, life is full of joy and happiness. We live a kind of burden free life. Youth is the most important, enjoyable and precious period in human life. Youth is energetic and romantic. So, we should involve ourselves in something creative and productive.
The old age is bitter and painful. When we become old, we loss all our energy and strength and the life becomes very much passive and dull. The laziness of retired life adds more boredom to our life. Nobody will listen to us and share our thoughts and feelings. Life becomes sorrowful and miserable in old age. The worse situation happen when we are neglected. Everyone is forced to bear with diseases and insults in this age. One day the young become old and lose their physical energy. Their past days, effort and achievement become a kind of dream to them. To remember the past days for the old man is a habit.
It is the rule of nature and time that every young person is old. There is no one who can stop the time and age. When a man becomes older and older, the reminiscences of his past came into his mind as fresh as before. Everyone get their honor for their past work here. That’s why; it is the harvesting age what we have sown in the past.
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