<P> Metrical analysis of the poem, according to Robert Einarsson, proves difficult because he believes Yeats adheres to "rhythmical motifs" rather than traditional use of syllables in his meter . In stanza two, Einarsson points out instances where the meter of the poem contains examples of amphibrachic, pyrrhicretic, and spondaic feet . He argues that the complexity of Yeats's verse follows patterns of its "metremes", or rhymical motifs, rather than common metrical devices . </P> <P> The poem also may be read to consist of straightforward iambic verse that relies on common metrical devices such as elision, acephalous lines, promotion, and metrical inversion . Lines 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 of each stanza are iambic pentameter; lines 4, 6, and 7 are iambic tetrameter . For instance, using traditional principles of scansion, stanza two may be scanned as shown below, where syllables in all caps represent metrical beats, lower - case syllables represent metrical off - beats, the vertical bar represents the termination of a metrical foot, and apostrophes represent elisions . The number of metrical feet per line is marked in parentheses at the end of each line: </P> <P> I'ave WALKED and PRAYED for THIS young CHILD an HOUR (5) and HEARD the SEA - wind SCREAM upON the TOWER, (5) and UND - er th'ARCH - es OF the BRIDGE, and SCREAM (5) in th'ELMS aBOVE the FLOOD - ed STREAM; (4) imAG -' ning IN exCIT - ed REV - erIE (5) THAT the FUT - ure YEARS had COME, (4) DANC - ing TO a FRENZ - ied DRUM, (4) OUT of the MURD -' rous INN - ocence OF the SEA. (5) </P> <P> As the poem reflects Yeats's expectations for his young daughter, feminist critiques of the poem have questioned the poet's general approach to women through the text's portrayal of women in society . In Yeats's Ghosts, Brenda Maddox suggests that the poem is "designed deliberately to offend women" and labels it as "offensive". Maddox argues that Yeats, in the poem, condemns his daughter to adhere to 19th - century ideals of womanhood, as he focuses on her need for a husband and a "Big House" with a private income . </P>

A prayer for my daughter by william butler yeats summary