Burial
Burial - meaning Summary
Wealth, Mortality, Succession
The poem shows a funeral procession carrying a young woman to the grave while townspeople watch from windows. Observing the burial prompts them to consider their own mortality and the inevitability of being “torn” from their homes. They imagine that when they die, others will inherit their wealth and possessions. The lines link death with social continuity and inheritance, presenting mortality as a practical, communal fact rather than an abstract idea.
Read Complete AnalysesTo the grave one day from a house they bore A maiden; To the window the citizens went to explore; In splendor they lived, and with wealth as of yore Their banquets were laden. Then thought they: "The maid to the tomb is now borne; We too from our dwellings ere long must be torn, And he that is left our departure to mourn, To our riches will be the successor, For some one must be their possessor.
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