1. Heading: When you are Old W.B. Yeats Date: Objectives
Introduce the poem.
Understand the themes of ‘Love’ and ‘Age’.
Warm – up
Imagine yourself as an elderly person. Write 2-3 sentences
(Picture on next slide)

2. Imagine yourself as an elderly person. Write 2-3 sentences.
Warm-up
Imagine yourself as an elderly person. Write 2-3 sentences.

3. Quick Summary of W.B. Yeats
Yeats spent around thirty years of his life chasing after and being rejected by an actress named Maud Gonne. She was interested in politics so he was too. He was so crazy about her that he even proposed to her daughter.
The following poem is one of many poems trying to convince her to be with him.

4. When You are Old by W.B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

5. When You are Old by W.B. Yeats
Exercise 1: First Impressions
Having read the poem once, write down one sentence in response and share it.
Try using: I think, I know, I don’t know, I want to know.
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

6. Notes– stanza one
The poet’s love was unrequited because Maud Gonne never returned it. The poem invites her to think about the future when she is old, grey and has lost her energy.
Having read a book of poetry Yeats wrote
for her, she would hopefully look back
with regret.
Question: Her eyes WERE soft and had deep shadows in them. What kind of compliments are these?
She was
She will not be
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

7. Notes – stanza 2
The attractive actress was very popular and loved by many people. Only one man loved what was deep inside her though. One man loved her despite her face changing and getting older.
Question: To say you love someone’s soul.... What does that mean?
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
Pilgrim: Someone on a religious journey

8. Notes – Stanza 3
In the third stanza, the woman is no longer a famous star. She is down beside regular people like the poet was. He has fled however, given up on her and is now famous himself. They have switched places.
Question: Have you heard of reverse psychology?
What is the lesson he is trying to teach her?
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

9. Questions: Remember “quotes”.
How would the woman’s life change when she was old according to the poet?
Do you think the poet likes the woman? Explain.
Would you give this poem to someone you liked? Why or why not?

10. Homework part 2 Learn the first stanza
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

11. When You are Old by W.B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

12. Part 2

13. Heading: When you are Old 2 W.B. Yeats Date:
Objectives
To examine the poetic techniques of ‘When You are Old’, including:
Rhyme
Rhythm and Repetition
Alliteration
Personification
Warm-up – next slide

14. When You are Old by W.B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

15. When You are Old by W.B. Yeats
Warm-up exercise - copies
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
Write down the words that rhyme at the end of the lines.
(A-A, B-B, C-C....)
Do you think the rhyming words have a connection in what they mean as well as what they sound like? (2-3 sentence answer.)

16. When You are Old by W.B. Yeats
Warm-up exercise - copies
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

17. Notes – Rhyme
The rhymes are well chosen as they are connected by both sound and meaning. They go together well, creating a sense of harmony and everything having a place.
Question: Let’s say the rhyming scheme is like the man. What kind of compliments can we create to make Maud Gonne interested? They are
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

18. Question When You are Old by W.B. Yeats Find two cases of repetition.
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
Find two cases of repetition.
Note down the ‘S’ words in stanza one. Are they connected?

19. Notes – Rhythm and repetition
The poem is in Iambic Pentameter (Iambic – every second syllable stressed, Pentameter – 5 foot). This gives it the rhythm of a song or lullaby.
The repeated use of the word ‘and’ makes the poem feel drawn out. This and the soft ‘S’ sounds create a sense of drowsiness or sleep, reflecting old age.
Question: What command or request does the poet make here?
When you/ are old/ and grey/ and full/ of sleep,
And nod/ding by/ the fire/, take down/ this book,
And slow/ly read/, and dream/ of the/ soft look
Your eyes/ had once/, and of/ their shad/ows deep;
Da dum/da dum/da dum

20. Question When You are Old by W.B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
Find one case of alliteration in the poem.

21. Notes – Alliteration
Alliteration is used to speed up the poem at specific parts to make a point. It is used to show the speed the woman had when she was young, the speed of her fall and the speed of the man’s departure.
Question: Why make these lines or points sound quicker?
moments of glad grace,
bending down beside
hid his face

22. Notes – Personification
Love is given a capital ‘L’ as if it is a name. The poet is ‘Love’, the one and only love for Maud in his opinion.
Question: What does this mean? What does it mean to say ‘I am Love’.
how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

23. Homework Copy the poem into your notes with images beside it.
Remember, the point is to help you learn the poem so choose images you see as being linked to the words. Simple is better.

24. When You are Old by W.B. Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.