'A prayer for my daughter' by W.B.Yeats:-

This poem is a prayer for poet's daughter because he is worried about the possible danger in her future. So,he prayed God to keep her safe from cruelty of the world.
The poem begins with the burden of a personal occasion but concludes with a resolving generalization. There are many autobiographical elements of the poet in this poem. Yeats first prayed for beauty but this beauty must be tinged with compassion.
Yeats discards beauty as that of Helen of Troy because excessive beauty makes a woman incapable of compassion. He thinks that without it no intimate relationship is possible.
The second gift sought for the daughter is courtesy. Yeats asks that his daughter may become a living image of the tree of life.
According to the poet,intellectual hatred is the worst of all.if it replaced by innocence & purity it can bring joy & consolation to the individual. It will give an inner peace which cannot be disturbed by misfortune or opposition.
Finally he wishes that she grow up & get married in an aristocratic family which observes traditional manners & courtesy.
In short the poem shows Father's worry for his daughter & her future.

Thank You.