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.
Identify the sentences that convey the poet's ideas as expressed in the poem.
A. The poet has spent good times in his youth
B. Youth comes back again in life
C. The poet returns false promises of youth
D. The poet is happy in old age
E. The poet wants to keep the memories of youth
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → A, C and E only
A. The poet has spent good times in his youth — Correct.
- "Long have we dwelt together", "drunk of many an alien dawn" and "plucked the fruit of many an alien sky" recall years of shared pleasure and adventure.
B. Youth comes back again in life — Incorrect.
- Contradicted: youth "wilt not stay".
- The poet can only dream backward to it.
C. The poet returns false promises of youth — Correct.
- "I give thee back thy false, ephemeral vow": he hands back the promise of lasting joy that youth seemed to make.
D. The poet is happy in old age — Incorrect.
- Contradicted: his eyelids are "mournful".
- The mood is one of loss.
E. The poet wants to keep the memories of youth — Correct.
- He asks for a parting kiss as one "who hold thine image in my heart".