Once more the storm is howling, and half hid
Under this cradle-hood and coverlid
My child sleeps on. There is no obstacle
But Gregory’s wood and one bare hill
Whereby the haystack- and roof-levelling wind,
Bred on the Atlantic, can be stayed;
And for an hour I have walked and prayed
Because of the great gloom that is in my mind.

I have walked and prayed for this young child an hour
And heard the sea-wind scream upon the tower,
And under the arches of the bridge, and scream
In the elms above the flooded stream;
Imagining in excited reverie
That the future years had come,
Dancing to a frenzied drum,
Out of the murderous innocence of the sea.

May she be granted beauty and yet not
Beauty to make a stranger’s eye distraught,
Or hers before a looking-glass, for such,
Being made beautiful overmuch,
Consider beauty a sufficient end,
Lose natural kindness and maybe
The heart-revealing intimacy
That chooses right, and never find a friend.

Helen being chosen found life flat and dull
And later had much trouble from a fool,
While that great Queen, that rose out of the spray,
Being fatherless could have her way
Yet chose a bandy-leggèd smith for man.
It’s certain that fine women eat
A crazy salad with their meat
Whereby the Horn of Plenty is undone.

In courtesy I’d have her chiefly learned;
Hearts are not had as a gift but hearts are earned
By those that are not entirely beautiful;
Yet many, that have played the fool
For beauty’s very self, has charm made wise,
And many a poor man that has roved,
Loved and thought himself beloved,
From a glad kindness cannot take his eyes.

May she become a flourishing hidden tree
That all her thoughts may like the linnet be,
And have no business but dispensing round
Their magnanimities of sound,
Nor but in merriment begin a chase,
Nor but in merriment a quarrel.
O may she live like some green laurel
Rooted in one dear perpetual place.

My mind, because the minds that I have loved,
The sort of beauty that I have approved,
Prosper but little, has dried up of late,
Yet knows that to be choked with hate
May well be of all evil chances chief.
If there’s no hatred in a mind
Assault and battery of the wind
Can never tear the linnet from the leaf.

An intellectual hatred is the worst,
So let her think opinions are accursed.
Have I not seen the loveliest woman born
Out of the mouth of Plenty’s horn,
Because of her opinionated mind
Barter that horn and every good
By quiet natures understood
For an old bellows full of angry wind?

Considering that, all hatred driven hence,
The soul recovers radical innocence
And learns at last that it is self-delighting,
Self-appeasing, self-affrighting,
And that its own sweet will is Heaven’s will;
She can, though every face should scowl
And every windy quarter howl
Or every bellows burst, be happy still.

And may her bridegroom bring her to a house
Where all’s accustomed, ceremonious;
For arrogance and hatred are the wares
Peddled in the thoroughfares.
How but in custom and in ceremony
Are innocence and beauty born?
Ceremony’s a name for the rich horn,
And custom for the spreading laurel tree.

ABOUT THE POEM

“A Prayer for My Daughter” is a beautiful personal poem by William Butler Yeats reflecting his gloomy mood and a fear of a disturbing future. The poem was composed in 1919 and appeared in 1921. It was written during the World War I, thus it reflects the post-war agitation that was prevalent during that time. Though the war ended yet Ireland was still in disturbance. William Butler Yeats’ daughter Annie was born that time and the poet was worried for her future. He is worried that his infant daughter has to face the challenges and hardships of the future and how best would she be able to fight them. The poet suggests some characteristics that she must undertake which can sustain her future and keep her safe and happy.

SUMMARY OF THE POEM

A violent, dreadful storm is blazing outside. The haystack and roof-levelling wind is blowing direct from the Atlantic but is obstructed by just one naked hill and the woods of Gregory’s estate. Then his infant daughter is introduced who is asleep in her cradle will protected from the assaults of the dreadful storm that is raging outside. The poet while, pacing the cradle up and down praying for his daughter, his mind is full of apprehension for future of humanity.

Then the poet describes the condition of the shrill sound of the surroundings. He hears the sea-wind that is hitting the tower and below the arches of the bridge. It connects the castle with the main road and in the elms above the flooded river. The poet is disturbed by the shrill sound of the sea-wind. He is haunted by fear. He imagines the future, in course of his excitement and fear; that the future years have come out of the sea and it is dancing to the crazy beat of the drums. He is anxious for his infant daughter.

Beauty and Courtesy

The poet tells us about what he is praying for his daughter. He says he is praying that his daughter may be granted beauty, but not so much that it disturbs or distracts others. It is observed by him that the women who are very beautiful forget their natural kindness and are unable to accept sincere love. They fail to have an appropriate life partner and hence they remain unsatisfied.

In support of his statement, he refers to the Greek mythological character, Helen. Helen was the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda. She eloped with Prince Paris of Troy which led to the destruction of Troy. Aphrodite also married Hephaestus and betrayed him later on. Likewise, Maud Gonne too had rejected Yeats’ proposal and had married a foolish man and was not happy with him. He opines that beautiful women are too proud and foolish and therefore they suffer and lead a miserable life.

So he prays for his daughter that she should have something more than just bewitching beauty. She should be courteous. The hearts can be won by the virtue of courtesy. Even those women who are not beautiful can win hearts by their courtesy. Maud Gonne was very beautiful and Yeats was a fool to believe that she loved him too. Later on, he realized his mistake and he ultimately understood that it was courtesy and not beauty that won his heart.

Inner Peace and Intellectual Hatred

The soul of his daughter should flourish and reach self-fulfilment like a flourishing tree. Like the linnets, her life should be clustered around happy and pure thoughts. These little creatures are symbols of innocence and happiness that make others happy too. So he wishes his daughter to be happy within as well as keep others happy too.

In the meantime, the poet looks into his own heart, and finds hatred which has come because of the experience of life and the sort of beauty he loved. He prays for his daughter to keep away from such evils and says that if the soul is free from any kind of hatred, nothing can ruin one’s happiness and innocence.

He opines that intellectual hatred is the worst kind of hatred. It is a great flaw in someone’s character. So his daughter should shun any kind of hatred or strong bitter feelings for anyone. She should avoid the weaknesses that Maud Gonne had. Maud Gonne’s good upbringing and charming beauty proved useless when she chose a worthless person for a husband.

He opines if his daughter is free from the intellectual hatred, she will be a happy soul. She will have inner peace. She will be able to keep herself and others happy even when she is going through hardships and misfortunes.

Conclusion: Custom and Ceremony

In the end, he prays that his daughter should get married to a good, aristocratic and decent family. She would get a husband from such a family who would take her to a house where the aristocratic traditions are followed. She should live a life on high, spiritual values. Arrogance and hatred should not be entertained there. In the atmosphere of custom and ceremony, real beauty and innocence can take place.