There, by the starlit fences The wanderer halts and hears My soul that lingers sighing About the glimmering weirs.
A. E. HousmanRead
Because I liked you better Than suits a man to say, It irked you, and I promised I'd throw the thought away. To put the world between us We parted stiff and dry: 'Farewell,' said you, 'forget me.' 'Fare well, I will,' said I. If e'er, where clover whitens The dead man's knoll, you pass, And no tall flower to meet you Starts in the trefoiled grass, Halt by the headstone shading The heart you have not stirred, And say the lad that loved you Was one that kept his word.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses a deep, unreciprocated love and the promise of remembrance regardless of separation.
In this poignant piece by A. E. Housman, the speaker reflects on a relationship marred by unfulfilled feelings. Despite parting ways and vowing to forget, the speaker assures their loved one that their love remains steadfast, even after death. The imagery of the clover and headstone evokes a sense of solemn remembrance and enduring fidelity, illustrating the complexity and depth of love that persists in the heart, despite distance or loss.
Themes
LoveRemembrancePartingFidelityLoss
In practice
Example use cases
In a eulogy, to honor a loved one who has passed away but remains cherished in memory.
More from A. E. Housman
All quotes →Who made the world I cannot tell; 'Tis made, and here am I in hell. My hand, though now my knuckles bleed, I never soiled with such a deed.
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I am not a pessimist but a pejorist (as George Eliot said she was not an optimist but a meliorist); and that philosophy is founded on my observation of the world, not on anything so trivial and irrelevant as personal history.
A. E. HousmanRead
Lovers lying two and two Ask not whom they sleep beside, And the bridegroom all night through Never turns him to the bride.
A. E. HousmanRead
And malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.
A. E. HousmanRead
Oh, 'tis jesting, dancing, drinking_x000D_ _x000D_ Spins the heavy world around.
A. E. HousmanRead
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