CBSE Class 10 English Chapter 8 For Anne Gregory Notes 2026-27 | Nextoper Notes
What is the poem For Anne Gregory about?
For Anne Gregory is a short poem by W.B. Yeats in Class 10 English, First Flight. It is a dialogue about love and looks. A speaker says young men will love Anne only for her yellow hair. Anne offers to dye it. The speaker ends by saying only God can love her for herself alone.
The poem is easy to read but easy to misread. Many students mix up who says what. This page fixes that first.
Quick facts about the poem in Class 10 English, First Flight (CBSE 2026-27):
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Poem | For Anne Gregory |
| Poet | William Butler (W.B.) Yeats, an Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923 |
| Written in | 1933 |
| Textbook | NCERT First Flight, Class 10 English |
| Chapter | Chapter 8 (poem section, after the prose lesson The Sermon at Benares) |
| Form | A dialogue in three six-line stanzas (18 lines) |
| Rhyme scheme | ABCBDB in every stanza |
| Tone | Light, gentle and conversational |
| The woman addressed | Anne Gregory, granddaughter of Lady Gregory, a close friend of Yeats |
| Central idea | Being loved for your looks versus being loved for yourself |
Numbering note: older books and some school lists call this poem Chapter 11 or Poem 10. The current First Flight places it in Chapter 8. Check your own textbook before you write the chapter number in an answer.
What is the summary of For Anne Gregory?
In For Anne Gregory, a speaker tells Anne that young men will love only her honey-coloured hair. Anne replies that she can dye her hair brown, black or carrot. The speaker ends with an old religious man’s claim: only God can love her for herself.
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The poem in three lines
Stanza one: young men will love your hair, not you. Stanza two: then I will change my hair. Stanza three: even so, only God loves a person for herself.
Stanza-by-stanza table
| Stanza | Who speaks | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The speaker (the young man in NCERT questions) | Says young men, made hopeless by her hair, will never love Anne for herself. |
| 2 | Anne Gregory | Says she can dye her hair so that men may love her for herself. |
| 3 | The speaker again | Reports an old religious man who found a text proving only God can love her for herself. |
Notice that Anne never replies after stanza three. The speaker gets the last word. That is why the poem feels like a gentle argument that one side wins.
Who speaks which stanza in For Anne Gregory?
The speaker talks in stanzas one and three. Anne Gregory talks only in stanza two. The poem never names the speaker. NCERT questions call him “the young man”. Many readers take him to be the poet, W.B. Yeats, but you should use “the speaker” or “the young man” in answers.
This is the most useful fact in the whole poem. Exam answers go wrong here more than anywhere else.
Memory trick: picture a short chat. The speaker starts, Anne answers once, and the speaker has the last word. Speaker, Anne, speaker.
What does each stanza of For Anne Gregory mean?
Each stanza of For Anne Gregory makes one point. Stanza one says looks block true love. Stanza two says Anne would change her looks to test this. Stanza three says only God can see past looks. The last two lines of every stanza repeat the same idea.
Stanza 1: Hair as a wall
The speaker tells Anne that young men are thrown into despair by her “honey-coloured ramparts”. These are her golden locks near her ear. They are so lovely that men see nothing else.
Why this line matters: a rampart is a fort wall. A wall protects, but it also hides what is inside. Anne’s hair attracts men and hides her real self at the same time.
Stanza 2: The hair-dye reply
Anne answers that she can get a hair-dye. She lists brown, black and carrot. Then young men “in despair” may love her for herself.
Why this line matters: Anne does not argue about her beauty. She tests it. If the colour changes and love stays, the love was real.
Stanza 3: Only God
The speaker says an old religious man declared something last night. The man had found a text proving only God could love Anne for herself alone. The speaker passes this on as his final answer.
Why this line matters: “only God” is a bold claim. It says humans rarely look past appearances. It also quietly says that Anne is worth loving for herself.
The refrain: why the ending repeats
Look at the last two lines of each stanza. They are almost the same each time: love for yourself alone, not for yellow hair. Only the pronoun changes in stanza two, from “you” to “me”.
This repetition keeps the poem’s question in front of you. It also makes the poem easy to remember.
Who are the characters in For Anne Gregory?
The poem has three voices or figures. Anne Gregory is the young woman who wants to be loved for herself. The speaker is the person talking to her. The old religious man appears only in stanza three, through the speaker’s report. Young men are mentioned but never speak.
| Figure | Role in the poem | Key idea |
|---|---|---|
| Anne Gregory | The young woman addressed; speaks in stanza 2 | Wants to be valued for herself, not her hair |
| The speaker (“the young man” in NCERT) | Speaks stanzas 1 and 3 | Believes people judge by looks |
| The old religious man | Reported in stanza 3 | Says only God can love a person for herself |
| Young men | Mentioned, never heard | Fall for her hair, then despair |
Character sketch of Anne Gregory
Anne is practical. She does not complain. She offers a simple test with hair-dye.
She is also sincere. She wants people to like her for who she is. The poem gives her only six lines. Keep your sketch to what they show.
What are the themes of For Anne Gregory?
The main theme of For Anne Gregory is outer beauty versus the inner self. Related themes are how people judge, the limits of human love, and unconditional love. The poem asks whether anyone can love a person “for themselves alone”.
| Theme | Where you see it |
|---|---|
| Looks versus the real person | Yellow hair and honey-coloured ramparts in stanza 1 |
| People judge by appearance | Young men love the hair, not Anne |
| Looks are changeable | Hair-dye in stanza 2 |
| Unconditional love | “Only God” in stanza 3 |
Theme 1: Beauty can hide a person
Beauty usually helps a person. Here it also gets in the way. Anne’s hair draws attention but stops people from seeing her.
Theme 2: Love and qualities
The NCERT questions ask a bigger question. Do we love people for their qualities, or can we love them for themselves alone? The poem leans towards the second idea but admits it is hard.
Theme 3: A thought for your value-based answer
You may also say that the speaker is a little unfair. He assumes all young men are shallow. A good answer can respect the message and still question that view.
What poetic devices are used in For Anne Gregory?
The main poetic devices in For Anne Gregory are metaphor, refrain, dialogue, enjambment and hyperbole. The rhyme scheme is ABCBDB in all three stanzas. The tone is light and conversational, even though the question the poem asks is serious. Use the table below to match each device with its example.
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Metaphor | “honey-coloured ramparts” for hair | Hair becomes a sweet but protective wall |
| Refrain (repetition) | “Love you for yourself alone / And not your yellow hair” | Repeats the central question |
| Dialogue | Speaker, Anne, speaker | Makes the poem feel like real talk |
| Enjambment | Sentences running across line breaks | Gives a natural speaking rhythm |
| Hyperbole | “Only God … could love you” | Exaggerates to stress how rare real love is |
Rhyme scheme
Each stanza has six lines and rhymes ABCBDB. Lines two, four and six of each stanza rhyme with each other. If a question asks for the scheme, write ABCBDB and stop.
Tone
The tone is light and gentle. Nobody shouts. Even so, the idea underneath is serious.
What do the difficult words in For Anne Gregory mean?
The hard words in For Anne Gregory are ramparts, despair, hair-dye, carrot and yesternight. Ramparts are fort walls. Despair is loss of hope. Carrot here means an orange-red colour. Yesternight means last night. Learn these five and the poem reads easily.
| Word | Meaning | In the poem |
|---|---|---|
| Ramparts | Strong walls that protect a fort | A metaphor for Anne’s hair |
| Despair | Complete loss of hope | How young men feel about winning her |
| Honey-coloured | Golden yellow, like honey | Describes her hair |
| Hair-dye | A liquid that changes hair colour | Anne’s test in stanza 2 |
| Carrot | An orange-red colour | The third colour Anne names |
| Yesternight | Last night (an old word) | When the old man spoke |
| Declare | To announce clearly | What the old man did |
| Text | A written or holy book | The proof the old man found |
What are the NCERT questions and answers for For Anne Gregory?
The NCERT exercise for For Anne Gregory is called “Thinking about the Poem”. It has five questions. Two ask about the text: the ramparts and the hair colour. Three are open discussion questions about qualities, love and change. Model answers below are in our own words.
Check the question wording against your current NCERT textbook. The wording below follows the exercise as widely published.
Q1. What does the young man mean by “great honey-coloured / Ramparts at your ear”? Why does he say that young men are “thrown into despair” by them?
Model answer: The young man means Anne’s golden hair. He calls it ramparts because it works like a wall. Young men see only the hair and cannot see her real self.
They fall in love with her looks and then lose hope. They feel despair because they can never love the person behind the hair.
Q2. What colour is the young woman’s hair? What does she say she can change it to? Why would she want to do so?
Model answer: Anne’s hair is yellow, the colour of honey. She says she can dye it brown, black or carrot. She wants to show that looks can change.
If men still loved her after that, they would be loving her, not her hair. That is why she makes the offer.
Q3. Objects have qualities which make them desirable to others… Imagine you were trying to sell an object: what qualities would you emphasise?
Model answer: We choose objects for their qualities. A phone may be liked for its camera, battery and price. A dress may be liked for colour, fit and comfort.
If I sold a bicycle, I would stress its strength, comfort and low price. The point is that objects are valued for qualities. The poem asks if people should be.
Q4. What about people? Do we love others because we like their qualities… Or is it possible to love someone “for themselves alone”?
Points for discussion: This is a group-talk question, so there is no single right answer. You can use these ideas.
- A parent loves a newborn baby without asking what the baby can do.
- The public may love a film star or sportsperson for talent or success.
- We love friends and siblings for time shared, not only for qualities.
- A pet loves us without checking our looks or marks.
Say clearly what you think. Then give one example for your view.
Q5. How can we separate the dancer from the dance? Is it possible to separate the person from how they look, sound or walk?
Points for discussion: The “dancer and dance” idea comes from another Yeats poem, Among School Children. It means we cannot always split a person from how they act or look. Think of a friend who has changed over the years.
Their looks, voice or habits may have changed. Your bond may have changed too. Yet you still see the same person. That shows how hard it is to separate a person from their qualities.
What are the MCQs on For Anne Gregory with answers?
Here are 10 practice MCQs on For Anne Gregory for Class 10 English. Each comes with the correct answer and a one-line reason. These are written by Nextoper for practice. They are not copied from any board paper. Try them first, then check.
- Who wrote For Anne Gregory? (A) Robert Frost (B) W.B. Yeats (C) Walt Whitman (D) Carolyn Wells
Answer: B. The poem is by the Irish poet William Butler Yeats. - What colour is Anne’s natural hair? (A) Black (B) Brown (C) Yellow, like honey (D) Carrot
Answer: C. The poem repeats “yellow hair” and calls it honey-coloured. - What do “ramparts” mean here? (A) Fort walls, used for her hair (B) Her ears (C) A hat (D) A garden
Answer: A. Ramparts are walls. Her hair is compared to one. - Who speaks stanza two? (A) The old religious man (B) The speaker (C) Anne Gregory (D) A young man
Answer: C. Stanza two is Anne’s reply about hair-dye. - Which colour does Anne NOT name? (A) Brown (B) Black (C) Carrot (D) Blue
Answer: D. She names brown, black and carrot. - Who, according to the old religious man, can love Anne for herself alone? (A) Her grandmother (B) A poet (C) Any young man (D) God
Answer: D. The old man’s text says “only God”. - What does “yesternight” mean? (A) Tomorrow night (B) Last night (C) Midnight (D) Every night
Answer: B. It is an old word for the night before. - Which device is “honey-coloured ramparts”? (A) Simile (B) Onomatopoeia (C) Metaphor (D) Pun
Answer: C. Hair is called ramparts directly, with no “like” or “as”. - What is the rhyme scheme of each stanza? (A) AABBCC (B) ABABAB (C) ABCBDB (D) ABBA
Answer: C. All three stanzas follow ABCBDB. - How many lines does the poem have? (A) 12 (B) 14 (C) 16 (D) 18
Answer: D. Three stanzas of six lines each make 18 lines.
What is the quick revision box for For Anne Gregory?
For quick revision of For Anne Gregory, remember H-D-G: Hair, Dye, God. Stanza one is about hair. Stanza two is about dye. Stanza three is about God. The speaker talks in one and three. Anne talks in two. The rhyme scheme is ABCBDB.
- Poet: W.B. Yeats, Nobel Prize in Literature 1923.
- Written: 1933, for Anne Gregory, Lady Gregory’s granddaughter.
- H-D-G: Hair (stanza 1), Dye (stanza 2), God (stanza 3).
- Speakers: Speaker, Anne, speaker.
- Key metaphor: honey-coloured ramparts means her hair.
- Colours Anne names: brown, black, carrot.
- Theme: loved for looks versus loved for yourself.
- Form: 3 stanzas × 6 lines = 18 lines; ABCBDB.
What practice questions can I try for For Anne Gregory?
Try these six practice questions on For Anne Gregory after reading the notes. They are written by Nextoper for self-testing. They are not previous-year board questions. We do not claim they will appear in any exam. Write each answer first, then compare it with the notes above.
Self-check table
| Question | Type | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Why does the speaker say that men will not love Anne “for yourself alone”? | Short answer | Stanza meaning, stanza 1 |
| 2. What does Anne’s offer to dye her hair show about her? | Short answer | Characters; stanza 2 |
| 3. Who is the old religious man, and why does the speaker mention him? | Short answer | Stanza 3 |
| 4. Name two poetic devices in the poem. Give one example of each. | Short answer | Devices table |
| 5. Read stanza 2 and say who speaks, what she offers, and why. | Extract-based | Stanza-wise meaning |
| 6. “Beauty can be a wall.” Do you agree? Answer with reference to the poem. | Long answer (value-based) | Themes |
For board-style patterns, always check the official CBSE Academic website for the current syllabus and sample papers. Do not trust any list that says a question is “sure to come”.
What are the common mistakes in answers on For Anne Gregory?
Three mistakes appear most often in answers on For Anne Gregory. Students give the wrong speaker, credit the old man’s words to Anne, and say the speaker calls her ugly. Each mistake and its fix is below, so check your own answers against them.
- Wrong: “Anne says only God can love her.”
Right: The speaker says it, quoting an old religious man. Anne speaks only in stanza two. - Wrong: “The speaker says Anne is ugly inside.”
Right: He says men will not look past her hair. He does not say her inner self is poor. - Wrong: “Ramparts means her ears.”
Right: Ramparts is a metaphor for her honey-coloured hair near her ear. - Wrong: “Carrot means the vegetable.”
Right: Here carrot is a hair colour, orange-red. - Wrong: “Anne is vain.”
Right: The poem gives no proof of this. She wants to be loved for herself.
Mistake-proof habit
Before you write, ask one question: who is speaking? Write the answer in the margin. It takes five seconds and saves marks.
What short answer can I write for For Anne Gregory?
Short answer: In For Anne Gregory, W.B. Yeats shows a talk between a speaker and a young woman about love and looks. The speaker says young men will love Anne only for her yellow hair. Anne says she can dye it. The speaker replies that only God can love a person for herself alone.
Frequently asked questions on For Anne Gregory
What is the main message of For Anne Gregory?
The poem says people are often loved for their looks, not for who they are. Anne wants to be loved for herself. The speaker ends by saying only God can do that.
Who is Anne Gregory in the poem?
Anne Gregory is the young woman the poem is addressed to. She has yellow hair that attracts young men. She was the granddaughter of Lady Gregory, a close friend of the poet W.B. Yeats.
What do the honey-coloured ramparts at your ear mean?
The phrase is a metaphor for Anne’s yellow hair. Ramparts are fort walls. Her hair acts like a wall. Young men see only the hair and never look beyond it to her real self.
Who speaks which stanza in For Anne Gregory?
The speaker, called the young man in NCERT questions, speaks stanzas one and three. Anne Gregory speaks stanza two. There she says she can dye her hair brown, black or carrot.
What is the rhyme scheme of For Anne Gregory?
Each of the three six-line stanzas follows the rhyme scheme ABCBDB. The poem has 18 lines in total.
Final thoughts on Class 10 English Chapter 8 For Anne Gregory notes
Keep three things in mind from these Class 10 English Chapter 8 For Anne Gregory notes. The poem is a dialogue. The speaker talks first and last. The message is that real love looks past appearances.
Revise with H-D-G, fix the speaker mistakes, and practise one extract question. That is enough to answer almost any question on this poem with confidence.
Related Class 10 English notes
- Previous poem: Fog notes for Class 10 English
- previous: Class 10 English Chapter 7 The Tale of Custard the Dragon Notes
- All Class 10 English First Flight notes
About the author and reviewer
How we prepared this: We wrote these notes from the NCERT First Flight poem and its exercise, and checked them against the poem’s text. Review date: 20 October 2026.
Sources
- NCERT textbooks (ncert.nic.in): First Flight, Class 10 English.
- CBSE Academic (cbseacademic.nic.in): official curriculum and sample papers.
