Broken Dreams Flashcards
Yeats was… (Age)
…52 years old when the poem was published.
John MacBride.
Already died - 1916 May - executions for his part in Easter 1916 uprising. Maud’s estranged husband.
Varying length of…
…5 stanzas help to contribute to the unplanned feeling.
Enjambment used throughout the poem…
…fortifies this unplanned feeling, creating a fast-paced recollection of memories. It’s is particularly prominent in his recollection of Maud’s youthful beauty, which conveys excitement and yearning for the opportunity to again see this incomparable beauty.
It was published…
…in 1917, after Yeats’ last proposal to Maud Gonne.
The sibilance “Sole…
…sake” reflects the dream-like quality of the poem.
The repetition…
…of the ‘s’ sound also creates a despairing tone to the poem.
Links: Among School Children.
“There is grey in your hair”, “Hollow of cheek”. Both images of ageing and the decaying of natural beauty.
“Young men no longer…
…catch their breath/When you are passing”. The poem begins with a somewhat prosaic language, perhaps representing the concept of growing old and old passions dying.
“You are more beautiful than…
…anyone/And yet your body had a flaw/Your small hands were not beautiful”. The flaw is the only thing that separates her from the Angels. The angelic qualities he describes in his poem beautifies her, yet is neutralised by the presence of a flaw. It perhaps makes her even more desirable as this human-like flaw makes her beauty more precious.
“In rambling talk with an image of…
…air/Vague memories, nothing but memories”. As if finally accepting her rejections and so is no longer tormented by it. Much more at peace in comparison t other poems.
