The poem should be compared with
âInsomniaâ written
at about the same time. Its
biographical relevanceâa poem shadowed by DGR's memory of his
dead wifeâseems clear. An unintegrated line scripted on the Delaware draft
manuscriptââWe
two may end our martyrdomââis a peculiarly poignant sign of how DGR continued to be
haunted by the memory of his wife.
This collection contains 19 texts and images, including:
Ballads and Sonnets text
Scholarly Commentary
IntroductionÂ
The poem should be compared with âInsomniaâ written at about the same time. Its biographical relevanceâa poem shadowed by DGR's memory of his dead wifeâseems clear. An unintegrated line scripted on the Delaware draft manuscriptââWe two may end our martyrdomââis a peculiarly poignant sign of how DGR continued to be haunted by the memory of his wife.
Textual History: CompositionÂ
Composed in 1881, only one manuscript of the poem is known, the corrected draft in the library of the Delaware Art Museum.
Printing HistoryÂ
The poem was first printed in the 1881 Ballads and Sonnets and was collected thereafte