Question

"Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,

Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies,
Soon break, soon wither--soon forgotten,
In folly ripe, in reason rotten. "
How does this stanza of the poem reflect the poem's theme?
A) It focuses on the decay over time of things that were once beautiful
B) It mentions items that men often give to women as gifts demonstrating their love
C) It speaks of endless love between the shepherd and the woman he loves
D) It continues to list items that might belong to a woman

Answer 1

The correct answer here is A.

This stanza clearly focuses and illustrates the decay of once beautiful things, which fits with the theme of the poem, which ridicules all of the shepherd's, in nymph's eyes, short-term promises. All those pleasures he promises her are fleeting and thus nymph see no reason indulge in them with the shepherd.