The Young Man's Song: What does it Mean?

My personal thought at first when I read the poem was that this "Penny" represented a woman, as Penny is a female name/nickname. But upon further investigation, I suddenly realized that the two lines -

"Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love."

seemed to be a pretty strong indicator of the penny representing a wish of some sort (which Xander originally suggested), because the language of these lines seemed to be a pretty strong indicator that the penny in question represented a wish, as he discusses throwing the penny (like into a fountain) and hoping for the best.

Andrew Gross suggested that the penny might represent an advice-giver, as throughout the poem it sounds as if the speaker is addressing the penny as if it is human. Looking at both his and Xander's views on the poem, I found them to be far more interesting and likely then my original guess. I have combined both of their views to suggest that this penny acts in the poem as some sort of genie or wise-man, a knowledgable figure that you may impose your dreams upon and who will help you achieve your goals.

As this is a poem, I have no way of saying whether anyone's views are correct or not. But I will say that it takes a special kind of writer to be able to produce this plethora of ideas in a reader, and that's the writer I definitely strive to be.

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