The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner

-          William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Paraphrase:

            Now I am old and weak. I cannot protect myself properly. When I was young, strong and wealthy, I always drew attention of my friends and women. I used to sit beside the fire and discuss love and politics with other young men and women. That was before I was changed by time.

            The young boys are preparing to fight with their rivals. The greedy and dishonest politicians are using them to satisfy more of their hunger and thirst for power and money. But I am not worried about them or my country. I am pondering upon the time that has changed me.  

            No woman looks at me now. But I cannot forget all the beautiful women I loved in my youth. I spit into the face of time that has changed me.

Analysis of the Poem:

            The poem presents the poet’s reminiscences of his young life. Thinking about past is more agonizing when it was better than the present. The speaker, a retired old man, looks at his present state and contrasts his time of youth with his state in the old age. He is not satisfied with his present state. He thinks the time is guilty for his pathetic new condition. So, he hates time and wants to spit into its face.

            The old man is in a pitiful condition, so he is pessimistic in his view to life. He does not see any hope. So, he does not see any utility of the youths' movements. He regards them as ‘crazy rascals’. He also hints that even the youths will one day become as helpless as he is.

            The old man seems to be alone and unhappy. Perhaps his family members decided to leave him alone due to his lecherous behavior. It is also possible that he never got time to marry and have a settled life because of his promiscuity. Anyway, he seems angry and unhappy at his present state.

            The poem is a well organized one. It has three stanzas. Each stanza is of one sentence, and compares his past with his present. In the first stanza, he talks about his past popularity and present loneliness. It also reveals his past political activeness. In second stanza, he presents the present political scenario around him. But he says he doesn’t have any interest in the political activities. In the third stanza, he again talks about his present state of being neglected by beautiful women. He compares it with his past playboy status. But each stanza repeats the refrain ‘time has transfigured me’.  It is the dominant idea in the poem.