"Brown Penny" by William Butler Yeats

 

Brown Penny

I whispered, 'I am too young,'

And then, 'I am old enough';

Wherefore I threw a penny

To find out if I might love.

'Go and love, go and love, young man,

If the lady be young and fair.'

Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,

I am looped in the loops of her hair.

 

O love is the crooked thing,

There is nobody wise enough

To find out all that is in it,

For he would be thinking of love

Till the stars had run away

And the shadows eaten the moon.

Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,

One cannot begin it too soon.

Enjoy the poem with beautiful music.

poem video👇

https://youtu.be/8mrm01sseOE

Who wrote the poem "Brown Penny"?

William Butler Yeats (June 13, 1865 – January 28, 1939)

William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet, playwright, prose writer, and is widely considered as one of the greatest poets of the 20^th century. He was born to the Protestant, Anglo-Irish community that considered themselves English people born in Ireland and had largely controlled the economic, political, and social life of Ireland. However, Yeats strongly affirmed his Irish nationality and found inspiration in Irish legends and the occult in his early career. Later his poetry became more physical and realistic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. 

"Brown Penny" explanation

The main theme of the poem is love. The speaker tosses a brown penny to see if he is old enough to fall in love. The coin tells him to “go and love.” Yet love is too complicated to be completely understood. The poet shows the inevitable and enigmatic nature of love using the symbol of brown penny.