‘On Being Asked for a War Poem’ by W. B. Yeats

Evaluate 'On Being Asked for a War Poem.

Hello Readers

Today we will discusse about ‘On Being Asked for a War Poem’ is a poem by W. B. Yeats. So our mind is a so many  questions. What could be the work of a poet?  What can a poet explain through his poetry?  What can give?  Does the poet present in his poetry? All these questions are very difficult to answer.  Because every poet, every poem has a different price.  He presents his experiences in his poetry.  He composes his poems according to the structure he likes, with the things he likes.  Every poet tries to give a message to something in the society.  In his poetry, he depicts the events that took place in his time.  Which in the future will make men find something useful or learn something from it.So we will discuss a similar poem by W. B. Yeats on On Being Asked for a War Poem.

W. B. Yeats 

‘On Being Asked for a War Poem’ is a poem by W. B. Yeats, written in 1915 and published the following year. It’s one of Yeats’s shortest well-known poems, comprising just six lines,

Original Poem

On being asked for a War Poem

BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS

I think it better that in times like these
A poet's mouth be silent, for in truth
We have no gift to set a statesman right;
He has had enough of meddling who can please
A young girl in the indolence of her youth,
Or an old man upon a winters night.

Form of the poem

Rhyme: abcabc, end rhyme

Meter: pentameter, iambic

Form/Stanzaic Structure: reflection, slow

Speaker: implied author

Audience: imagined audience

Tone: Defensive

Diction: formal

Syntax: multitude of phrasing, only one complete sentence.

Imagery: young girl, old man, gift, winter’s night

Figurative Devices: metaphors

Theme: Poets should stay out of writin

g on political issues, because the intention of the author is misinterpreted or made extreme.

Argument: Separate art from politics

Rhetoric: States is argument as a type of reflection.

Flaws: Several of Yeats’s earlier poem were politically charged and provided fuel for Nationalism.

Summary: Yeats’s is refusing to write a poem that justifies the war against the British, because he now sees his intensions earlier Nationalist works as naïve. He wanted to support the Nationalist cause, but not fighting.

But why that title? Who has ‘asked Yeats for a war poem’?

It was response to a request by Henry James  that Yeats compose a political poem about World War I. Yeats changed the poem's title from "To a friend who has asked me to sign his manifesto to the neutral nations" to "A Reason for Keeping Silent".The poem was first published in Edith Wharton's The Book of the Homeless in 1916 as "A Reason for Keeping Silent". When it was later reprinted in The Wild Swans at Coole, the title was changed to "On being asked for a War Poem".

‘On Being Asked For a War Poem’: This poem was written after Yeats was asked to write a war poem. It is a meditation on whether poets can write war poetry. It also considers an old question: what is the role of the poet in society, and what is the function of poetry?  An ancient philosopher, Plato, even thought that poetry should be banned as corrupting to society. Yeats here enters this long-standing argument in the modern age.

Dilip Baradsir discussion of  ‘On Being Asked for a War Poem’ poem.

I think it better that in times like these
A poet's mouth be silent, for in truth

This is contradicted in the poem.  It tells the poet to keep his mouth shut.  When poets are shown not saying their thing in front of politicians.  The poet does not need to interfere in the way things are going.  The poet's job is only to write poems on love, affection, friendship.  Not to write poems on this war.  It is not the poet's job to write a poem on war.  In the case of war, it is a good idea to keep the poet's mouth shut when it comes to politics.  It is depicted as a metaphor.  Has been shown as a substitute in this matter.  In which the metaphor is contrasted in different ways.  Shutting down means not interfering with what is happening.  Politicians could not be spoken against, but it could be represented by poems.  So the poet seems to have presented this matter in poetry, which is a truth.

We have no gift to set a statesman right;

He has had enough of meddling who can please

Within these lines, political leaders have been shown not to interfere in their affairs.  Poems or poets should not interfere in it, because they do not have such a gift.  So that they can speak out against politics, and formulate or formulate policies.  Poets have no work in political politics and have no respect for poetry.  So the poet or his poetry should not interfere in politics and war.

A young girl in the indolence of her youth,

Or an old man upon a winters night.

Two edges are shown inside these lines.  One is young and the other is old.  One is female and the other is male.  That fills the scope of influence. That the poet’s role is to appeal to beauty and wisdom, youth and age? The paradox shows that the more wise a person is in politics, the better the power and authority.  Politics does not need beauty and war does not need beauty.  So poetry is a symbol of beauty.  Which has no value in politics, or has no value in war. The old man has a long experience.  And young people have less understanding, but more innovation.

Therefore, within this poem, it has been shown that the poets should not interfere in the affairs of the politicians and in their work.  In which the symbol of young and old explains to what extent an experienced man can perform well with his skills and experience.  Poetry has no place in war and politics.  Because these two things do not require emotion.

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