Table of contents | |
About the Poet | |
Key Points of the Poem | |
Detailed Summary | |
Theme/ Message | |
Literary Devices | |
Difficult Meanings |
Never shall a young man,
Thrown into despair
By those great honey-coloured
Ramparts at your ear,
Love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.
The poem begins with the speaker addressing Anne Gregory, praising her stunning honey-colored hair, which has the power to captivate any man's heart. The speaker suggests that this external beauty acts as a barrier, preventing others from seeing Anne's true self. Because of her striking appearance, the speaker doubts whether any man can love Anne for who she truly is, rather than just admiring her outer beauty, specifically her lovely hair.
But I can get a hair-dye
And set such colour there,
Brown, or black, or carrot,
That young men in despair
May love me for myself alone
And not my yellow hair.
In the second stanza, Anne responds to the speaker by emphasizing that outer appearances are superficial and unimportant. Using her hair as an example, she suggests that external beauty, like hair color, can easily be changed and is therefore not genuine. Anne asserts that anyone who loves her must see beyond her outward appearance and appreciate her true self. She believes that genuine love should focus on her character rather than her physical attributes, such as her yellow hair.
Stanza 3
I heard an old religious man
But yesternight declare
That he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Could love you for yourself alone
And not your yellow hair.
In the final stanza, the speaker responds to Anne's belief in love for internal beauty. The speaker recalls an encounter with an old religious figure who claimed that only God possesses the ability to see beyond external appearances. Humans, according to the speaker, are easily swayed by outward beauty and fail to understand the depth of a person's soul. Therefore, the speaker concludes that only God can truly love Anne for who she is, unaffected by her external beauty.
Theme
Message
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1. What is the central theme of the poem "For Anne Gregory"? |
2. Who is the poet of the poem "For Anne Gregory"? |
3. What is the significance of the speaker's conversation with Anne Gregory in the poem? |
4. How does the poet use literary devices to convey the message of the poem "For Anne Gregory"? |
5. What is the overall message that the poet is trying to convey through the poem "For Anne Gregory"? |
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