💛 Class 10 English Poem 11 – For Anne Gregory Notes
Book: First Flight
Poem: For Anne Gregory
Poet: W.B. Yeats
Chapter: 11
Board: CBSE Class 10 (2025)
✍️ Introduction
“For Anne Gregory” by W.B. Yeats is a thoughtful and emotional poem that explores the idea of love beyond physical appearance. Through a gentle conversation between a man and a young woman named Anne Gregory, the poet conveys that true love should be based on inner qualities, not outer beauty.
📖 Summary of the Poem
The poem is written in the form of a dialogue. In the first stanza, a man tells Anne Gregory that many men have loved her for her beautiful yellow hair. However, he says that no one has loved her for her true inner self—the person she really is.
Anne responds in the second stanza, saying that she can dye her hair brown, black, or carrot-colored, implying that external beauty can be changed easily. She wishes someone would love her not for her looks, but for her soul, character, and true self.
In the third stanza, the speaker says that even a holy man in a religious book once proved that only God can love a person for their inner self, without caring about their outward appearance. This highlights the difficulty of finding someone who truly values one’s personality over physical beauty.
Through this simple conversation, Yeats conveys a deep truth about human relationships and the importance of genuine love that sees beyond appearances.
🌟 Central Idea
The poem’s central idea is that most people love others based on their physical beauty, but real, lasting love should come from appreciating someone's inner qualities. The poet also suggests that only divine love is truly unconditional.
🎨 Poetic Devices Used
- Dialogue: The poem is structured as a conversation.
- Metaphor: “Yellow hair” symbolizes external beauty.
- Enjambment: Sentences flow into the next line smoothly.
- Irony: Despite wishing for inner love, humans often fall for appearance.
- Symbolism: Hair color symbolizes changeable physical features.
📚 Word Meanings
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Despair | Complete loss of hope |
| Ramparts | Defensive walls (used here as a metaphor for hair) |
| Carrot | Bright orange-red (referring to hair color) |
| Religious text | A sacred or holy book |
| Truly | Genuinely, honestly |
❓ Important Questions and Answers
- Q1. What is the main message of the poem “For Anne Gregory”?
Ans: The poem suggests that true love should be based on inner qualities and not on outward physical appearance. - Q2. How does Anne Gregory wish to be loved?
Ans: Anne Gregory wishes to be loved for her character and soul, not for her looks or hair color. - Q3. What does the yellow hair symbolize in the poem?
Ans: It symbolizes beauty and external appearance, which often attracts people more than inner qualities. - Q4. What does the poem say about human and divine love?
Ans: The poem says that only God can love a person for their true inner self, while humans are usually attracted to physical beauty.
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📌 Tags: Class 10 English Poem 11, For Anne Gregory Summary, W.B. Yeats, First Flight Notes, CBSE 2025, ToppersNoteHub
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