POEM INTRODUCTION: “When You are Old” was written in October 1891, during his uncertain relationship with Maud Gonne who was an Anglo-Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress. The poem is based on a sonnet by Pierre de Ronsard, which first appeared in Le Second Livre Des Sonnets Pour Hélène (1578).
SUMMARY
The speaker of the poem addresses his beloved saying that when she is aged she should read a particular book which will remind her of her youth. She will remember the people who had loved her grace and her beauty with either real or fake sentiments in the past, and also that one man who had loved her soul unconditionally as she grew old and the way she looked changed. As she is reminded of him, she will regret her missed opportunity of true love.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In the first two lines, the speaker pictures his beloved as “old, and gray and full of sleep”, “nodding by the fire”, taking down and reading “this” book, which probably refers to the book that was to become The Countess Kathleen and Various Legends and Lyrics. The image evoked is of a sleepy old woman by the fire. The physical appearance of the woman is summarized by the word “gray” – her hair, eyes and skin have become lustreless and dull. The phrase “full of sleep” suggests weariness, peace and her proximity to death.