Question

select the correct answer from each drop - down menu.
read this excerpt and complete the sentences that follow.
a shropshire lad
by a. e. housman (excerpt)
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.
the central theme of the poem is
. in the end, the poet
the wise mans views.

Explanation:

The poem focuses on the pain of romantic heartbreak learned through experience: the wise man warns against giving away one's heart, and the 21-year-old ignores him, only to realize the truth at 22. The poet ends by acknowledging the wisdom of the man's words.

Answer:

The central theme of the poem is the pain of lost love/heartbreak from youthful folly. In the end, the poet accepts/affirms the wise man's views.