O YOUTH sweet comrade youth, wouldst thou be gone?
Long have we dwelt together, thou and I;
Together drunk of many an alien dawn,
And plucked the fruit of many an alien sky.
Ah, fickle friend, must I,
who yesterday Dreamed forwards to long, undimmed ecstasy,
Henceforward dream, because thou wilt not stay,
Backward to transient pleasure and to thee?
I give thee back thy false, ephemeral vow;
But, O beloved comrade, ere we part,
Upon my mournful eyelids and my brow
Kiss me who hold thine image in my heart.
What is the theme of the poem?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Fleeting nature of youth
The whole poem is a farewell to youth. The poet has lived happily with it, but now it "wilt not stay"; its vow was "ephemeral" and its pleasures "transient". The theme is that youth passes quickly and leaves only a memory.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Enjoying the present time — Incorrect. Contradicted: the poet looks back at past joys and grieves over their loss; he does not celebrate the present.
Option 3: Time give false vows — Incorrect. Wrong link: the "false, ephemeral vow" belongs to youth, not to time, and it is only one image in the poem, not its theme.
Option 4: Breaking of humans promises — Incorrect. Misread: no human being breaks a promise; the "vow" is a metaphor for youth's seeming promise to last.