Many years ago at bedtime I used to read poetry aloud. We had many favourite poets and poems. This one has now taken on new meaning for me, especially the last verse. At first glance the title seems puzzling but digging a bit deeper I discovered that Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote it “…for his closest friend Arthur Henry Hallam, after Hallam’s sudden death at age 22. Scholars agree that this was the most important event in Tennyson’s life …..” The web site suggests that the poem “combines the expression of a deeply personal experience of intense male friendship and mourning with discussions of public concerns, including major debates of the day about science and religion”. The actual elegy is much, much longer. For now, this will suffice.
In Memoriam A. H. H. OBIIT MDCCCXXXIII: 27
