Read the poem and answer the following question.
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
Which of the following best states the central idea of the poem?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → True love wants the loved one’s happiness more than its own remembrance
In the first eight lines the speaker asks the beloved again and again to remember her after her death.
- Then the wish changes. The speaker says it is “Better by far you should forget and smile” than remember and be sad.
- Remembrance means being remembered. The speaker’s love is so deep that the beloved’s happiness matters more than being remembered.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The memory of the dead must be kept alive at any cost — Incorrect. Contradicted: This is only the speaker’s first wish. The last six lines take it back. The speaker would rather be forgotten than make the beloved sad.
Option 3: Death puts an end to all the love between two people — Incorrect. Contradicted: The speaker’s love goes on past death. The speaker still cares about the beloved’s happiness after death.
Option 4: The dead feel hurt when the living forget them — Incorrect. Contradicted: If the beloved forgets for a while, the speaker says “do not grieve”. Grieve means feel deep sorrow. The speaker is not hurt by being forgotten.