Why does the poet pray that his daughter should have beauty but not excessive beauty W B Yeats s A Prayer for My Daughter is filled with love and wisdom The poet prays for his daughter's happiness and strength in life He wants her to have beauty but not excessive beauty He believes too much beauty can create problems in her life Below are the reasons why the poet wishes for balanced beauty Avoiding Vanity The poet worries that too much beauty might make his daughter vain If she becomes too focused on her appearance she may forget the importance of kindness and wisdom The poet fears that nbsp Beauty to make a stranger's eye distraught nbsp This might lead his daughter to become proud He wants her to value inner qualities over physical beauty To Stay Safe from Trouble The poet reflects on how excessive beauty has brought unhappiness