Lying awake in grief, the poet addresses a worldly friend, Lorenzo, through a series of nights on time, death, friendship and the soul’s survival, mourning lost companions such as Narcissa along the way. George Gilfillan’s edition prefaces the poem with an essay on Young’s life and genius and supplies explanatory notes.
Widely read for a century and illustrated by William Blake, it is the founding text of the graveyard school. Download the free EPUB.