FOR ANNE GREGORY- THE SETTING & SUMMARY

The Setting of For Anne Gregory:

It is well known that after 1898, Yeats spent every summer in the home of Lady Gregory at Coole Park in County Galway. Eventually, he also purchased a ruined Norman castle called Thoor Ballylee in the neighborhood. While living there, he spent a lot of time with Lady Gregory’s family, including young Anne. Perhaps this poem is set in Coole itself, at either Lady Gregory’s home or at Yeats’, on an occasion when he and Anne were talking. However, it is equally possible that the poem is set entirely in Yeats’ imagination, and that the conversation with Anne never really took place.

Summary of For Anne Gregory:

The poem consists of 18 lines in total. These lines are not divided into stanzas. Here they are divided into meaningful segments for the purposes of this summary in order to make the poem easier to understand and follow.

Lines 1 – 6:

In these lines, the poet is speaking to the young Anne Gregory. He tells her that her hair is the same color as honey. The way her hair falls over her ear, entirely enveloping it within the strands, makes the poet think of the ramparts one finds surrounding a castle and protecting it against attack from the outside. The poet knows that the sight of her beautiful hair has made many a young man fall in love with her, and also to despair for their overtures are not accepted by her. However, the poet is also sure that all the young men who claim to be in love with her love her for her yellow hair, that is, for her appearance alone. They do not know who she really is, and hence they cannot appreciate her inner beauty, being enamored of her outer appearance only.

Lines 7 – 12:

In these lines, Anne Gregory is giving the poet a response to his statement that men love her only for her outward appearance. She does not say that the poet’s point of view is entirely wrong. Instead, she says that if her yellow hair is what men like, she can easily dye it some other color. That is, she can change her physical appearance. She also suggests what color she might dye her hair, and mentions brown, black and carrot as plausible options. These, she feels, are less appealing than blonde. In other words, she is saying that she can choose to look ugly if she wants. Perhaps if she looked ugly then she would get a chance to find out if it is possible for some man to look beyond her physical appearance and love her for the person she is on the inside.

Lines 13 – 18:

In these lines, we once again hear the poet speaking. He tells Anne Gregory that the previous night he had come across an old man who was quite religious-minded. This old man had asserted that he had found a manuscript in which it was written that only God will be able to love Anne for more than her physical appearance. In other words, the poet is saying that it is a truth since time immemorial that men cannot easily judge women on anything other than their looks. He is also paying Anne the compliment that she can never look ugly even if she wants to.