On Robert Riddel
written in 1794
On Robert Riddel - meaning Summary
Commemorating a Cherished Friend
This short elegiac fragment honors Robert Riddel by linking his worth to a modest, ivy-clad cottage. The speaker mourns Riddel as "much-lamented" and treats the ivied cot as a tangible emblem of the man’s life and value. Addressing the reader directly, the poem asks for recognition and reverence rather than merely reporting grief. Its compressed lines concentrate on memory and place: the home becomes a prompt to value the person it sheltered and to carry respect for him forward.
Read Complete AnalysesTo Riddel, much-lamented man, This ivied cot was dear; Reader, dost value matchless worth? This ivied cot revere.
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