"A Prayer for My Daughter" by W.B. Yeats is a poem that expresses the poet's fears and hopes for his newborn daughter. The poem begins with the poet walking and praying for his daughter, in the midst of a storm. He imagines the future and hopes that his daughter will be granted beauty, but not so much that it makes her vain and lose her natural kindness. The poet also hopes that his daughter will be learned and wise, but not so intellectual that she forgets to be kind and compassionate. He warns her against the dangers of beauty, citing examples of Helen of Troy and other women who were ruined because of their looks. The poem ends with the poet wishing for his daughter to be like a "flourishing hidden tree" that dispenses kindness and love without expecting anything in return, and lives a life rooted in love and joy.

1. A Prayer for my
Daughter by W. B.
Yeats
The Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote “A Prayer
for my Daughter” in 1919, two days after the birth of
his daughter, Anne, and included it in his 1921
collection, Michael Robartes and the Dancer. In the
poem, a speaker (usually read as Yeats himself) prays
about the type of woman he hopes his daughter will
become and the kind of life he hopes she will have.
At its core, the poem expresses a father's heartfelt
wishes for his newborn daughter. In a larger sense, "A
Prayer for my Daughter" is a rich, complex reflection
on the joys and struggles of parenthood, Irish politics,
and Yeats's own past.
‘A Prayer for my Daughter’ by William Butler
Yeats speaks about the poet’s family. It
demonstrates his concern and anxiety over the
future wellbeing and prospects of his daughter,
Anne.