For Anne Gregory Introduction
The poem is in a form of dialogue between two people, Anne Gregory and another is identified as speaker. It could be anyone i.e. Anne’s lover or a friend or the poet himself. The poem is about perception of love by different people.
For Anne Gregory is an 18-lined poem which is in the form of dialogues between the speaker and a lady by the name of Anne Gregory who was the grand-daughter of Lady Gregory, a very close friend of Yeats.
The poem is about importance of physical beauty for women in the world. In the poem, the poet suggests Anne that no person on earth loves a women for herself. Rather he falls in love with the yellow hair of ladies.The girl becomes sad and says that she can dye her hair with other colours and then the people will be able to appreciate her inner beauty. However the poet says that no one but God loves the people for their inner beauty.The tone of the poem seems to be sad because the girl expects to be loved for her inner beauty rather than her external appearance.
For Anne Gregory Explanation Stanza Wise
Part 1
The poet tells Anne that a young man who is thrown into despair i.e fallen in love with great honey-coloured i.e. beautiful yellow hair that fall at her ear and look like wall around the fort does not love her for what she is but for her beautiful yellow hair.The lines give an insight of a wise man who is advising a young one about the dark reality of the world and the craze for external appearance rather than internal beauty.The poet tells the girl that no man would love her for her inner beauty or her pure soul. However she will be loved by everybody because of her beautiful yellow hair which fall from ears.
Part 2
Hearing this, the child (Anne Gregory), who is innocent and unaware of the world, replies that in order to make the young men love her for her inner self, she will get a hair-dye and set the colour of her hair as brown or black or even carrot (red).These lines depict what kind of thinking young Anne has. She does not like to be loved for her external beauty. She rather desires to be loved for her inner self, her soul or what she really is.
Part 3
Hearing this, the poet tries to cheer Anne up as she becomes sad. The poet says that he heard an old religious man who has just declared that he has found a text (religious) that proves that only God loves a person for his/her inner self or the real self.He is the one who loves would not look for the beautiful yellow hair to judge the person. Instead, He looks for the beauty of soul. The poem thus ends in hope and Anne probably feels comfortable after listening to the poet.
For Anne Gregory Central Idea
In this poem, the poet describes a conversation between himself and Lady Gregory’s granddaughter named Anne Gregory. He tells Anne that her yellow hair is beautiful and that all the young men who claim to be in love with her love her for that hair.
In other words, all men love her for her outward appearance and not for her inner beauty. Anne then replies to the poet saying that she can easily dye her hair black or brown or orange, and then she would look ugly.
If she looked ugly, then perhaps some man would look beyond her appearance and see her for who she really is on the inside. However, the poet quickly assures her that no such thing will happen. It is a universal truth that men always judge women on their physical appearance alone. Besides, even if Anne wants to look ugly, she cannot do so for she is a beautiful person on the inside.
Never shall a young man thrown into despair
By those great honey coloured Ramparts at your ear
Love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair
Explanation: The speaker, addressing Anne Gregory, says that her beautiful honey-coloured hair can make any man fall in love with her. This love is not for Anne but for her beautiful external features. Her beautiful hair is compared to wall, symbolising outer beauty. This beauty can capture any man’s attention. But he
may not be able to look beyond that into Anne’s character. So the speaker says that no one can love Anne, for what she is. One can love her only for her beautiful yellow hair and her physical beauty.
But I can get a hair-dye And set such colour there,
Brown or black, or carrot, That young men in despair May love me for myself alone And not my yellow hair
Explanation: In this stanza Anne replies to the speaker that she can change the colour of her beautiful hair and dye them in black, brown or carrot. She wants to tell the speaker that anyone falling in love with her must see the actual person behind the beauty. She thinks that young men, who fall in love with her, must
love her for what she is and not for her yellow hair.
“I heard an old religious man But yesternight declare That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair.”
Explanation: In the last stanza, the speaker replies to Anne about the importance of love for internal beauty not the external one. The speaker talks about an old religious man, who announced that he had found a text in which it is written that only God is capable of looking beyond external beauty. He means that humans do not have the insight and understanding to look into the soul of a person. They are swayed away by the glitter of outer beauty. Therefore, only God can love Anne only for herself and not for her beauty.
Reference to the context
- Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow:
“Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.”
(i) Who is being addressed to?
(a) the poet
(b) Anne Gregory
(c) a lover
(d) a woman
(ii) What can a young man admire and love in a lady?
(a) her moral beauty
(b) her physical beauty
(c) her yellow hair
(d) her inner beauty
(iii) The word ‘ramparts’ refer to .
(iv) Explain the central idea of the lines (stanza) in 30-40 words.
- “But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,
Brown, or black, or carrot,
That young men in despair
May love me for myself alone
And not my yellow hair.”
(i) Who is the speaker?
(a) a young man
(b) a young lady
(c) the poet
(d) an old lady
(ii) Why would she dye her hair brown, black or pink?
(a) to attract men
(b) to look beautiful
(c) to look not so attractive
(d) to make others love her as she is and not for her looks
(iii) Complete the analogy about the speaker’s hair. yellow: blonde :: carrot :
(iv) What causes the young men to ‘despair’, according to the extract? Answer in 30-40 words.
Question and answers
- In what way is physical love different from spiritual love?
Ans. Physical love does not last long. It fades away as soon as the loved person loses physical attractions. Spiritual love is for the inner self of the loved person, and it lasts long.
- What does the poet remind Anne Gregory?
Ans. The poet quotes from a priest to conclude his argument. He says that he heard a priest stating (on the authority of a religious text) that only God can love a person for himself/herself alone and not for this person’s physical grace. In other words, only God’s love is non-physical.
- What attracts the attention of the poet towards Anne Gregory?
Ans. The poet says that the hair of Anne Gregory is honey-coloured. Her hair covers her ears just as a huge wall protects a fort. Many young men admire the beauty of her hair, but the lady does not relish it.
- What is the subject of the first stanza?
Ans. The poet wants to make it clear to the lady that it is impossible to love her for herself alone. Nobody can ignore the charming locks of hair which cover her ears. The poet himself seems to be entrapped in the locks of her hair.
- Bring out the theme of the poem ‘For Anne Gregory’.
‘For Anne Gregory underlines the idea that physical charms are short-lived. Love for youth and beauty called physical love is transient. Those who fall in love with someone for physical charms do not really respect the person for what he or she is.
That is why, the lady in the poem is not delighted to hear that many of her lovers are in love with her because of her beautiful, golden hair. She retorts that she will dye her hair brown, black or carrot-colour. She hopes that the young men will then love her for her own sake and not for the sake of her beautiful, yellow hair.
The poet reminds the lady that human beings are selfish. They are attracted to each other only because of physical charms. It is only God who is selfless and loves human beings for themselves alone. This remark reveals that it is not possible for humans to love selflessly. Only God can have selfless love.
- Discuss the development of thought in the poem ‘For Anne Gregory’.
The poem comprises three stanzas. In the first stanza, the poet pays a compliment to Lady Gregory for having beautiful honey-colour hair. Many young men, he says, are in love with her because of her golden hair which covers her ears on both sides like the ramparts of a fort.
In the second stanza, the lady gives vent to her feelings. She reacts to the poet’s remark somewhat irritably. She says that she will dye her hair brown, black or carrot-colour so that young man will love her for her own sake.
In the third stanza, the poet concludes by quoting that he heard from a priest only on the previous night. The priest, giving a reference to a holy book, said that only God loves human beings for themselves alone. What the poet wants to say is that it is futile to expect human beings to love a person for his or her own sake.”
Poetic Devices in for Anne Gregory:
Rhyme scheme:
If we divide this poem of 18 lines into 3 units of 6 lines each, then each of these units will be found to follow the same simple rhyme scheme, that is, ABCBDB.
Apostrophe:
This rhetorical device is used when a poet addresses his or her poem to an absent audience. In this poem, the poet follows the device of the apostrophe as he is addressing himself to Anne Gregory, but we the readers never see her at any point in the poem.
Metaphor:
This rhetorical device is used when a covert comparison is made between two different things or ideas. In this poem, the poet uses the device of metaphor on the 4th line when he compares Anne Gregory’s hair with the ramparts of a castle. Like the ramparts, her hair also protects her face from being seen fully.
Metonymy:
This rhetorical device consists of the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant. In this poem, the poet uses the device of metonymy in the 9th line when he uses the word “carrot” to mean the color orange while making suggestions about what color she can dye her hair.
Compound Words:
Compound words are formed by adding two words into a single one when normally those words are not used together. In this poem, the poet uses the device of the compound word in the
14th line when he combines the words “yesterday” and “night” to create the word “yesternight”.
Themes of for Anne Gregory:
Conventional ideas of beauty:
The idea of “beauty” is a cultural conception or one that has been created by human beings themselves. That is why this idea is very one-dimensional and unchanging. It is believed that women with lighter hair (and lighter skin, though that is not the issue here) are beautiful, whereas women with darker hair are ugly. This idea is so pervasive that everyone takes it for granted and believes in it blindly. Even Anne Gregory thinks the same way about beauty. She believes that if she dyes her hair black or brown or red, then she will look ugly, as opposed to her naturally blond and honey-colored tresses that make her look beautiful. However, the poet gives us an alternate idea of beauty, he tells Anne that since is a beautiful person on the inside, she cannot look ugly even if she wants to. That is, beauty exists within us and not outside. However, we do not see Anne responding to the poet’s unconventional idea of beauty in this poem. Hence, we do not know if his idea has been accepted by her.
Men judge only by outer appearance:
Throughout the poem, the poet has made a critique of men. By repeatedly telling Anne that men love her only for her yellow hair, he has made it clear that men judge women only by their physical appearance. They never look beyond women’s appearance and try to get to know
women for their personality or their inner beauty. However, the poet believes that this is very wrong. He feels that men should get to know who women are on the inside, and appreciate them for the same. He knows who Anne really is, and that is why he can assert that she is a beautiful person on the inside. He only hopes that some other man of her own peer group will also appreciate the same qualities in Anne that he sees in her, but he also knows that this is unlikely to happen.
Universal truth told by a wise man:
The “old religious man” that the poet mentions in the last stanza are the embodiment of wise men. These are men who are very learned, and who know all there is to know about this world. The poet’s man is also very well read, and in fact, in one manuscript he has read that only God loves a woman for more than her physical appearance. Of course, the poet does not mean that such a manuscript exists literally. What he means is that it is a universal truth that no man can
judge a woman by anything other than her looks. Moreover, it is only God who knows people for what they really are. God also knows that Anne is a beautiful person, and therefore, God loves her for her sweet and kind nature rather than her good looks.
EXTRA SHORT ANSWER QUESTION
Question 1: What was not liked by the young men?
Answer: The young men do not love the real person but love appearances. Everyone wants one should be loved for his actual personality and not by what he looks like. The young man does not like grey or yellow hair, and they do not care for inner beauty but love.
Question 2: The young woman’s hair is yellow coloured. She is ready to change her hair colour to another colour. Why would she want to do so?
Answer: The young woman is ready to do so because she wants someone to love her. Moreover, she wants that someone should love her for her inner beauty and not for the colour of her hair.
Question 3: What does the old religious man say? Answer: The old religious man says that he has found a text which proves that only God could love us for ourselves alone and not for physical beauty. He is the one who truly loves us.
Question 4: What is the central idea of the poem, ‘For Anne Gregory’?
Answer: The poem conveys the idea that physical beauty may be important for young men or human beings, but God does not love human beings for their physical beauty. In this poem, the poet gives an example of a lover who loves the yellow hair of a young lady but does not like her ramparts. The lady disapproves his love.
Question 5: To whom is the first stanza of the poem addressed? What does the speaker say to her?
Answer: The first stanza of the poem is addressed to a lady named Anne Gregory. She had a great influence on the poet. He had great respect for her. He tells her that although she is a noble lady, yet nobody would love her for herself alone.
Question 6: What makes a young man not to love the woman referred to in the first stanza?
Answer: The woman has beautiful yellow hair. But the outer part of her ears is not attractive. The poet says that men shall never love her only for herself.
Question 7: What does the woman say she can do to make herself more desirable to young men? What does this show?
Answer: The woman says that she would dye her hair brown, black or carrot colour. This shows that young men give more importance to physical appearance than inner beauty.
Question 8: What does the religious man tell the poet about God’s love for man?
Answer: The religious man has told the poet that he has found a religious text. According to that, God loves a person, not for his or her physical qualities, but for their inner qualities.
EXTRA LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS.
Question 1: The poet in the poem, ‘For Anne Gregory’ conveys that we should give importance to the inner beauty and not the physical appearance. Elaborate with reference to the poem.
Answer: In the conversation that takes place between Anne Gregory and another speaker, the poet has tried to show that inner beauty is real beauty, whereas physical appearance is changeable and hence, unimportant. The first speaker says to Anne that young men love her for
her beautiful yellow hair and may never love her for what she really is. To this, Anne replies that her hair-colour can be changed into black, brown or carrot, meaning that external beauty is all superficial and men should not love her for that. Through Anne’s reply, the poet has made clear his preference for internal beauty over physical appearance.
Question 2: How right or wrong is it to judge someone on the basis of his/her physical appearance?
Answer: Physical appearances never give the true account of a person as it can be changed with the help of clothing, make-up and other such things. Something which is not true and real should not be used to judge the person carrying it. A person must be judged on the basis of his behaviour that shows the true characteristics of his personality. This is explained by Anne in her reply to the first speaker that her beautiful hair-colour which attracts men is changeable, hence, men
should not fall in love with her based on her hair colour.
Question 3: Why do you think, the other speaker mentioned the old religious man and the text that proves that only God can love Anne for herself alone?
Answer: It is so because the speaker wanted to tell Anne that her desire that men should not see her outer beauty is not going to be fulfilled. The speaker tells Anne that only God can be so great as to avoid external beauty and look beyond it. Man, on the other hand, falls for all things that appear pretty from outside and never bothers about what lies inside.
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