The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner

What things are in the memory of the speaker in his old age?

The speaker is lamenting on the loss of his bygone days. Throughout the poem he expresses his sadness and disappointment on the loss. He becomes sad when he reminisces his past life in the first stanza. He has lost the companionship of his friends, and there is no one to talk of love and politics with him. He is neglected and ignored. Similarly, he can't fight against human tyrants because of his age. Moreover, he has lost his beloveds and now they only...

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...