6. Summary

The poem 'For Anne Gregory' by William Butler Yeats talks about the concept of beauty as perceived by human beings. The poet talks to Anne Gregory about how a lot of men are in despair because they cannot get her. But these men only love her because of her honey-coloured hair. The hair looks like a rampart that covers her face and makes her more attractive. They do not love her for who she is but rather only for her yellow hair. Anne Gregory says she would use a hair dye and colour her hair black, brown or carrot. She feels that this could make only men who love her for who she approaches her. But the poet says that this is not true, as an older man who has read a text has declared that only God is capable of loving our inner selves and all other men will only go after external beauty.