Blog Entry 12: When I was one-and-twenty

When I was one-and-twenty (Poem paraphrase)written by A.E. Housman pg. 563 of the text.

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.

This poem is a simple poem to understand its meaning. It is an older man telling a younger man to be careful falling in love at the age of 21 because it can be painful and frustrating. The older man, probably a Father talking to his son, is imparting the wisdom of what a wise man told him once. The wise man is probably his own experience. The interesting word in the poem is "rue". I did not know what this meant and when I googled it it really solidified my understanding of the poems meaning. Rue is defined as sorrow, and regret. The currency in the poem is English which places the author in Great Brittan. When you read the poem you almost sound like you are talking to yourself with an English accent, because it has that feel. This poem really hit home for me because it is very difficult for a father to impart his wisdom to his son because they tend to know everything already. I know I did?