Discuss the ways in which Yeats is cynical and reflective in Broken Dreams
Broken Dreams was published in 1917 after Yeats' last proposal to Maude Gonne, he was 52 years old when it was published. Around the time this poem was published, women couldn't vote, there were no jobs for women, women were less equal and the suffragette movement was going on. Yeats in the poem is talking about Maude, she was a woman he loved she didn't love him back. The poem is quite aloof and cool, it's almost like he's giving a lecture.
Yeats mentions the women's flaws in every stanza, he is consistent; "There is grey in your hair". He says that 'young men no longer suddenly catch their breath when you are passing' Yeats is suggesting that women are nothing without beauty, he also used a well known catch phrase which was emotive. Through some of the poem there are religious aspects 'Because it was your prayer' The religious imagery and connotations of death could suggest that his love for her may have died, there is also a sense that a lot of time has passed which makes Yeats seem as if he is being reflective.
The poem starts off with quite a set rhyme scheme which gives a sense of rhetoric, it's like he is delivering a speech. The rhyme scheme changes in the third stanza which links to the idea of her not being powerful anymore. There is an irregular stanza length like there is for most of Yeats poems which could suggest a chopping and changing of feelings, it's like he is confused in most poems. In this particular poem, he is indecisive, he obviously still has feelings for her but he's not sure about his feelings.
As the poem goes on, the relationship becomes less valuable and he becomes more cynical; 'The last stroke of midnight dies. All day in one chair' this line makes you think of him dying, old people sit in chairs all day long, he is lonely and he only has his memories with him. Throughout the poem he repeats the line 'vague memories, nothing but memories' this could be because he's emphasizing the fact that her beauty and their
Yeats mentions the women's flaws in every stanza, he is consistent; "There is grey in your hair". He says that 'young men no longer suddenly catch their breath when you are passing' Yeats is suggesting that women are nothing without beauty, he also used a well known catch phrase which was emotive. Through some of the poem there are religious aspects 'Because it was your prayer' The religious imagery and connotations of death could suggest that his love for her may have died, there is also a sense that a lot of time has passed which makes Yeats seem as if he is being reflective.
The poem starts off with quite a set rhyme scheme which gives a sense of rhetoric, it's like he is delivering a speech. The rhyme scheme changes in the third stanza which links to the idea of her not being powerful anymore. There is an irregular stanza length like there is for most of Yeats poems which could suggest a chopping and changing of feelings, it's like he is confused in most poems. In this particular poem, he is indecisive, he obviously still has feelings for her but he's not sure about his feelings.
As the poem goes on, the relationship becomes less valuable and he becomes more cynical; 'The last stroke of midnight dies. All day in one chair' this line makes you think of him dying, old people sit in chairs all day long, he is lonely and he only has his memories with him. Throughout the poem he repeats the line 'vague memories, nothing but memories' this could be because he's emphasizing the fact that her beauty and their