The speaker old woman

In ‘An Old Woman’ the narrator presents a very common incident most tourists experience when they visit a historical shrine. Such tourist places are usually crowded out by beggars, vendors and tourist guides pestering tourists to give them alms or buy toys and trinkets or to hire them as guides respectively. The first four stanzas portray the old woman as ‘a burr’. The first stanza describes the narrator’s reaction. The sixth and seventh stanzas describe the narrator’s reaction and also signal a change in his attitude as well as his perspective towards old women. The poem is a recollection of the narrator’s experience when he visited a historical place on the barren hills of Jejuri town, which houses the famous legendary ‘Horseshoe’ shrine for Khandoba, the presiding deity at Jejuri. The poet presents his experience dramatically helping the reader visualize it instantly. As soon as he had landed in the place, an old beggar woman grabbed hold of his sleeve and hobbled along with him, pestering him to give her a fifty paise coin in return for which she would guide him to the horseshoe shrine. Though he told her that he had already seen it, she persisted and did not let him go. At that moment, the poet’s previous experience of dealing with old women coupled with that incident makes the narrator express his annoyance and scorn for such old women saying that they are like ‘a burr’ which cannot be brushed off easily. The narrator, then turned around to face her and send her away...

An old woman, who is a self appointed tourist guide, offers her service to all the pilgrims. She promises the narrator to take him to the horse shoeshrine. But the narrator who had already seen the horse shoe shrine was not interested. When the old woman insisted the narrator, he got very much irritated and turned angrily to scold and send away the old woman. He wanted to end the mockery show. But he saw the determination and honesty in her eyes. Her eyes were like “bullet holes”, empty and unseeing. He noticed her miserable being in her eyes. Her cracked skin around her eyes seemed to spread to the landscape around her, to the hills, the temples and even the sky. He noticed that even the whole world around him has fallen apart but the old woman stood like a rock for her values. This shows her determination and will to survive against all odds. Initially the narrator was unmoved and indifferent towards the old woman’s condition, but later, though late, a realization dawns upon him and feels very humbled and insignificant by this experience. He undergoes a change in attitude after this. He was reduced to so much small like the change in her hand. The poet finally feels that the society itself is responsible for the plight of the beggar- like situation, of the old woman. Categories • • (31.9k) • (8.8k) • (764k) • (248k) • (2.9k) • (5.2k) • (664) • (121k) • (72.1k) • (3.8k) • (19.6k) • (1.4k) • (14.2k) • (12.5k) • (9.3k) • (7.7k) • (3.9k) • (6.7k) • (63.8k) • (16.2k) • (26.6k...

Arun Kolatkar is the poet of the poem, “An Old Woman.” The poem is about encountering clinging old women when visiting a shrine or religious place. This poem depicts an old woman in a totally different vision, as the poet discovers her with a unique outlook owing to the woman’s demeanour and her words. He comes across this woman, fragile yet fierce in her gaze. For a fifty paise coin, she asks him to take her service to tour around the horseshoe shrine. Though the speaker first wants to dismiss her, she persists, and he finally recognizes her strong desire to earn a respectful life on her own. Eventually, his perspective shifts. About the Poet Arun Kolatkar (1932-2004) was educated and employed as a graphic artist in Mumbai. Kolatkar, a Commonwealth Poetry Prize recipient, has written to ‘Kavi,’ ‘Opinion Literary Review,’ ‘New Writing in India,’ and ‘The Shell and The Rain,’ among other publications. He is a poet who is bilingual and has also translated Marathi poetry. This poem is from his book ‘Jejuri,’ which contains a compilation of his poetry. Theme In this poem, the visitor’s impression of the woman as someone who just pestered the tourists for money has transformed. He realizes that despite witnessing a catastrophe, this woman prefers to earn her life on her own. The poem ends on a note that, no one can be taken for granted. Structure The poem is structured into 11 stanzas that are made up of irregular tercets. A tercet is a three-line stanza which may or may not co...

The speaker had no sympathy for the old woman — later shows sympathy — looking at her physical appearance — moved by her condition — when she says she would show him horseshoe shrine for fifty paise coin — admires her self respect. Detailed Answer : Initially, the speaker had no sympathy for the old woman. But later when he observed her keenly, looked at her physical appearance, he was moved by her condition. And later, when she offered to become a tourist guide to show him the horse shoe shrine for fifty paise coin, he wondered at her and admired her self respect. When she kept pestering him that she would take him to the Horseshoe shrine, he became angry and turned around to face her and tell her to end the force. He was also disturbed by her questions, her determination and the will to survive even though she was old and poor, the speaker felt himself very humbled and insignificant.

The speaker, the old woman, is dying and believes she does not have long to live. She sends a message to her two sons,Polin and Manuai, to come to her. We can assume they have left home, left the town where they grew up, perhaps to find work and make their livings elsewhere. The old woman acknowledges their right to do so: "Let them keep the price of their labour." Perhaps the sons have been... The speaker, the old woman, is dying and believes she does not have long to live. She sends a message to her two sons,Polin and Manuai, to come to her. We can assume they have left home, left the town where they grew up, perhaps to find work and make their livings elsewhere. The old woman acknowledges their right to do so: "Let them keep the price of their labour." Perhaps the sons have been sending money back to their mother to help support her, but now that she is dying, she needs their emotional support and their physical presence. She doesn't want their financial support anymore--indeed, she will not need it much longer--so she tells them to keep their money. "Their eyes are mine" has a double meaning. First, because they are her sons, she has passed on to them all of their physical characteristics, including, as the old woman points out, their eyes. Perhaps their eyes resembled hers; if so, every time they look in the mirror, they should be remembering their mother. The old woman uses this connection between herself and her sons as an argument to bring them home. Second, saying...

While ‘When You Are Old’ is not one of them. However, it should be noted that Maud Gonne, like Yeats, was seen as a political figure in Ireland. Both were nationalists, and it was this passion, coupled with her undeniable beauty, that made Yeats fall in love with her. Yeats proposed to her numerous times, and each time he was denied. Both went on to marry other people, but the impact Gonne had on Yeats’ work is undeniable. After an initial read, many see this poem as one that is filled with love, but the last When You Are Old William Butler Yeats Summary ‘When You Are Old’ reveals that the speaker viewed himself as a true lover, desperately hoping that his beloved might look into her future and imagine herself old and regretting having never returned his love. Many see this poem as highlighting the unrequited love between the speaker, presumably Yeats, and his former lover. In this poem, the speaker, talking directly to his Meaning To gather the full meaning of ‘When You Are Old’, a reader must understand the love life of Yeats. For many years, he was in love with a beautiful actress, Maud Gonne. Gonne would not (or could not) return his love. This was a bitter rejection for Yeats, whose heart was set on her. This poem is addressed to her. Here, Yeats specifically refers to himself as “Love”. “Love”, then, is Structure The poem consists of three Literary Devices While the work is relatively short, like any Yeats poem, it is jam-packed with Themes This poem reveals several ...