When I Was One-and-Twenty Summary

“When I Was One-and-Twenty” is a short and witty poem about the perils of young love. The speaker is a young man. At the age of 21, a wise man told him that it would be better to give away money than to give away his heart. Ultimately, it would be less expensive to lose pearls and rubies than ownership over his heart. However, the man was young and headstrong, and disregarded the advice. Even when the wise man stressed that giving away his heart would cost the young man all his happiness, he disregarded the advice. Now, however, the speaker is one year older, and, presumably having suffered the pains of love, sees the truth of the wise man’s words.