The poem is a tribute to a friend, reflecting on the friend's admirable qualities and the speaker's own feelings of inadequacy. The speaker describes the friend as strong, quiet, just, and brave, likening him to Roman figures and fabled kings. The speaker feels like a child in comparison, striving for virtue but unable to reach it. The poem contemplates mortality, with the speaker acknowledging that all paths lead to the same end, where earthly judgments cease. The speaker anticipates a reunion with the friend in the afterlife, hoping to be changed for the better, while expecting the friend to remain the same. The poem is a meditation on friendship, admiration, and the inevitability of death.
By Robert Louis Stevenson · First published 1885 · Genre: Poetry, Lyrical Poetry, Elegy