“Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms” by Thomas Moore
Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly today,
Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art.
Let thy loveliness fade as it will.
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.
It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear;
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sun-flower turns on her god, when he sets,
The same look which she turned when he rose.
Use the poem to answer the question.
Which of the following best expresses the central message of the poem?
A.
The speaker is confident that his beloved will always be beautiful.
B.
The speaker hopes his beloved returns his feelings of devotion.
C.
The speaker is asking his beloved to marry him before her beauty fades.
D.
The speaker assures his beloved that he will love her as she grows older.
E.
The speaker expresses sadness that his beloved is dying.
D. The speaker assures his beloved that he will love her as she grows older.
The central message of the poem is best expressed by option D: The speaker assures his beloved that he will love her as she grows older.
To determine the central message of the poem "Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms" by Thomas Moore, we need to analyze the themes and ideas presented in the text.
In the poem, the speaker expresses their unwavering love for their beloved. They acknowledge that beauty and youth are temporary and they will eventually fade away, yet the speaker assures their beloved that their love will remain constant. The poem emphasizes the enduring nature of true love and the belief that love transcends physical appearances.
In light of this, option D. "The speaker assures his beloved that he will love her as she grows older" best expresses the central message of the poem. The speaker believes that true love is not tied solely to external beauty or youthfulness, but it deepens and becomes stronger as time passes.