When I Was One-and-Twenty

When I was one-and-twenty

       I heard a wise man say,

“Give crowns and pounds and guineas

       But not your heart away;

Give pearls away and rubies

       But keep your fancy free.”

But I was one-and-twenty,

       No use to talk to me.


When I was one-and-twenty

       I heard him say again,

“The heart out of the bosom

       Was never given in vain;

’Tis paid with sighs a plenty

       And sold for endless rue.”

And I am two-and-twenty,

       And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true.

By: A. E. Housman

The narrator of this poem is a twenty-two-year-old and he writes about the advice he received from a mentor about love when he was twenty-one. In the first four lines, he is telling how when he was twenty-one someone, presumably, with more knowledge and experience, told him “Give crowns and pounds and guineas but not your heart away” (Housman). Upon further research, I found that “guineas” was a British gold coin back in the 1600s and “pounds” are the currency in Britain. So, in this line the narrator is saying that his mentor told him he can give crowns, gold, and money away but not his heart.

            The next two lines reads “Give pearls away and rubies but keep your fancy free” (Housman). The mentor is telling him that you can give away expensive jewelry, but don’t get too attached. When we’re young we sometimes tend to fall in love easily and rush to make commitments that we’re not necessarily ready to make. He then goes on to say “But I was one-and-twenty, no use to talk to me” (Housman). Young people often don’t listen to the advice of their elders and think they know better. So here he’s saying that since he’s twenty-one and young there’s no point telling him these things.

            “I heard him say again, the heart out of the bosom was never given in vain; Tis paid with sighs a plenty and sold for endless rue” (Housman). In these lines, the narrator received another piece of advice stating that when you give your heart away you end up paying the price and regret it endlessly. “And I am two-and-twenty, and oh, ‘tis true, ‘tis true” (Housman). In these last two sentences, the narrator is now twenty-two and realizes that the mentor was right after all. The author uses consonance in a few lines: “free” “me” and “rue” “true”. Ultimately, the theme of this poem is to listen to your elders and those who have more experience then you; It can prevent you from getting hurt.