Growing Old - Arnold
What is it to grow old?
Is it to lose the glory of the form,
The luster of the eye?
Is it for beauty to forego her wreath?
—Yes, but not this alone.
Is it to feel our strength—
Not our bloom only, but our strength—decay?
Is it to feel each limb
Grow stiffer, every function less exact,
Each nerve more loosely strung?
Yes, this, and more; but not
Ah, ’tis not what in youth we dreamed ’twould be!
’Tis not to have our life
Mellowed and softened as with sunset glow,
A golden day’s decline.
’Tis not to see the world
As from a height, with rapt prophetic eyes,
And heart profoundly stirred;
And weep, and feel the fullness of the past,
The years that are no more.
It is to spend long days
And not once feel that we were ever young;
It is to add, immured
In the hot prison of the present, month
To month with weary pain.
It is to suffer this,
And feel but half, and feebly, what we feel.
Deep in our hidden heart
Festers the dull remembrance of a change,
But no emotion—none.
It is—last stage of all—
When we are frozen up within, and quite
The phantom of ourselves,
To hear the world applaud the hollow ghost
Which blamed the living man.
, - The title is deceptively simple but deeply evocative.
- On the surface, it signals the universal process of aging,
immediately situating the poem’s theme.
- However, Arnold uses it ironically, as the poem explores aging
Growing Old not as a natural or serene progression but as a gradual loss
of vitality, emotion, and identity.
- The plainness of the title contrasts with the profound, painful
experience depicted in the poem, emphasizing the stark,
unglamorous reality of old age.
- It frames aging as an emotional and existential decline rather
than a peaceful maturation.
- The opening line sets a reflective and questioning tone that
frames the entire poem.
- It introduces aging not as a simple, biological process but as a
What is ittogrow old? profound existential inquiry.
- The rhetorical question invites readers to reconsider their
assumptions about what it truly means to grow old—whether
it is merely the loss of youth’s physical beauty or something
deeper, involving the erosion of vitality, emotion, and identity.
- The line reflects the speaker’s questioning of whether aging is
merely the loss of physical beauty and youthful vitality.
- The “glory of the form” symbolizes the outward perfection and
Is it to losethe glory of grace of the human body — its strength, elegance, and
theform, attractiveness.
- By posing this as a question, Arnold suggests doubt and irony,
implying that the decline of physical form is only a surface
aspect of growing old.
- This phrase symbolizes the fading vitality and inner light that
once animated a person’s youth.
- The “luster” suggests not only physical brightness or beauty
but also the spark of curiosity, passion, and emotional
The lusterofthe eye? intensity that shines through one’s eyes.
- As people age, this gleam dims, reflecting both the physical
decline of the body and the quieting of the soul’s energy.
- The eye, often seen as a window to the spirit, loses its vivid
expressiveness, signifying a deeper loss of joy, innocence, and
immediacy of feeling.
- Thus, the poet uses this image to evoke the poignant erosion
of life’s inner radiance.
- The poet uses this image to symbolize the loss of youth’s
physical beauty and vitality.
- The “wreath” represents the crown or reward of beauty,
Is it for beauty to forego something once proudly worn but now surrendered with age.
her wreath? By personifying beauty as a woman forced to give up her
-
adornment, the line evokes both dignity and sorrow, suggesting
that aging strips away the visible signs of grace once admired
by others.
What is it to grow old?
Is it to lose the glory of the form,
The luster of the eye?
Is it for beauty to forego her wreath?
—Yes, but not this alone.
Is it to feel our strength—
Not our bloom only, but our strength—decay?
Is it to feel each limb
Grow stiffer, every function less exact,
Each nerve more loosely strung?
Yes, this, and more; but not
Ah, ’tis not what in youth we dreamed ’twould be!
’Tis not to have our life
Mellowed and softened as with sunset glow,
A golden day’s decline.
’Tis not to see the world
As from a height, with rapt prophetic eyes,
And heart profoundly stirred;
And weep, and feel the fullness of the past,
The years that are no more.
It is to spend long days
And not once feel that we were ever young;
It is to add, immured
In the hot prison of the present, month
To month with weary pain.
It is to suffer this,
And feel but half, and feebly, what we feel.
Deep in our hidden heart
Festers the dull remembrance of a change,
But no emotion—none.
It is—last stage of all—
When we are frozen up within, and quite
The phantom of ourselves,
To hear the world applaud the hollow ghost
Which blamed the living man.
, - The title is deceptively simple but deeply evocative.
- On the surface, it signals the universal process of aging,
immediately situating the poem’s theme.
- However, Arnold uses it ironically, as the poem explores aging
Growing Old not as a natural or serene progression but as a gradual loss
of vitality, emotion, and identity.
- The plainness of the title contrasts with the profound, painful
experience depicted in the poem, emphasizing the stark,
unglamorous reality of old age.
- It frames aging as an emotional and existential decline rather
than a peaceful maturation.
- The opening line sets a reflective and questioning tone that
frames the entire poem.
- It introduces aging not as a simple, biological process but as a
What is ittogrow old? profound existential inquiry.
- The rhetorical question invites readers to reconsider their
assumptions about what it truly means to grow old—whether
it is merely the loss of youth’s physical beauty or something
deeper, involving the erosion of vitality, emotion, and identity.
- The line reflects the speaker’s questioning of whether aging is
merely the loss of physical beauty and youthful vitality.
- The “glory of the form” symbolizes the outward perfection and
Is it to losethe glory of grace of the human body — its strength, elegance, and
theform, attractiveness.
- By posing this as a question, Arnold suggests doubt and irony,
implying that the decline of physical form is only a surface
aspect of growing old.
- This phrase symbolizes the fading vitality and inner light that
once animated a person’s youth.
- The “luster” suggests not only physical brightness or beauty
but also the spark of curiosity, passion, and emotional
The lusterofthe eye? intensity that shines through one’s eyes.
- As people age, this gleam dims, reflecting both the physical
decline of the body and the quieting of the soul’s energy.
- The eye, often seen as a window to the spirit, loses its vivid
expressiveness, signifying a deeper loss of joy, innocence, and
immediacy of feeling.
- Thus, the poet uses this image to evoke the poignant erosion
of life’s inner radiance.
- The poet uses this image to symbolize the loss of youth’s
physical beauty and vitality.
- The “wreath” represents the crown or reward of beauty,
Is it for beauty to forego something once proudly worn but now surrendered with age.
her wreath? By personifying beauty as a woman forced to give up her
-
adornment, the line evokes both dignity and sorrow, suggesting
that aging strips away the visible signs of grace once admired
by others.
