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Why does the old pensioner spit into the face of time?

Why does the old pensioner spit into the face of time?



W.B. Yeats' old man, in his poem “The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner", spits into the face of time. The main reason might be his anger and rage. The speaker is quite old almost like a broken tree. He has lost his youth, his past friends and lovers. When he reckons the reasons behind his loss, he finds time responsible for it. Since time has transfigured him into a broken tree, the poet laments on losing his past bygone days. The poet also realizes that he can't go back in time. In other words, he can't get his youth back; neither can deny the blow of time. Being helpless, he spits into its face finding it only responsible. Thus, time becomes an enemy that has snatched everything from him. So growing out of hatred and anger, the poet spits into the face of time. This reaction of the speaker portrays a helpless old man's personality who wants to be young again but can't be. So, what he can only do is to spit into the face of time.

Source: Old Is Gold

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