My hopes are with the Dead, anon

My place with them will be,

And I with them shall travel on
Through all Futurity;
Yet leaving here a name, I trust,
That will not perish in the dust. (Southey; lines 19-24)
And so, poet Robert Southey verbalizes his ultimate wish: his hope to become a figure
immortalized in history through his writings, much like all his most revered authors, poets,
and/or philosophers. Throughout his poem, Southey voices his ultimate reverence towards his
closest friends the ones who live in the lines inked on a page. He determines, through their
works, that they created a sort of immortality which he enables by reading their pages.
Ultimately, he not only recognizes their immortality, but he also vocalizes his wish to share in
their form of immortality. Southeys wish in My Days among the Dead are Past, however, is
not unheard of, as throughout history the idea that an author or poet could reach immortality
through their writing (for him/herself or someone else) repeatedly rears its proverbial head, as
evident in Shakespeares Sonnet 55, and inadvertently ties into Freudian Theory.
In Southeys poem, there is a repetitive use of couplets at the end of a seemingly
traditional four-line rhymed (abab) stanza. These couplets could very well symbolize a respect
or acknowledgment of Shakespeare as Shakespeare traditionally used a couplet at the end of his
sonnets to symbolize an ending to his piece. However, in this case, Southey uses his couplets to
symbolize an ending to his stanzas. This inadvertently plays into the Freudian Theory of eros
and thanatos.
In Freudian Theory, eros is the unconscious need for life and thanatos is the unconscious
need towards death or in less severe cases harm or ill-will either towards oneself or others
(Unconscious Motivation). In mythology, Eros was the god of love and sex (Staples), and

Thanatos was the god of death as in an angel of death sent to receive the souls of the dead
(Thanatos) and therefore these two effectively symbolize Freuds ideas. In My Days among
the Dead are Past Southey utilizes both eros and thanatos. On one hand, Southey provides
insight that he needs to, or at least wants to die: thanatos. This is especially evident in the lines
And I with them [the Dead] shall travel on/ Through all Futurity (21-22) because Southey is
stating that he wishes to share immortality with his friends who are in fact dead themselves.
On the other hand, eros proves the stronger force because Southey only wants to die so that he
may continue living through his writings for the rest of eternity.
Potentially among Southeys friends is William Shakespeare, as evident through
Southeys use of coupling at the end of his stanzas. However, Southey also demonstrates several
other similarities to Shakespeare when compared to Shakespeares Sonnet 55. Both Shakespeare
and Southey find reverence in immortality when applied through the everlasting quality of texts.
Southey demonstrates this over three separate sections. First, in lines 2-4, Around me I behold,/
Whereer these casual eyes are cast,/ The mighty minds of old; then in lines, How much to
them I owe,/ My cheeks have often been bedewd/ With tears of thoughtful gratitude (10-12);
and finally in lines 17-18, And from their lessons seek and find/ Instruction with an humble
mind. Between these three sections of poetry, he demonstrates a reverence for the immortality
of texts, though he also does this by capitalizing the word Dead throughout the poem, effectively
demonstrating his friends high importance. Shakespeare first demonstrates his reverence for
the immortality of texts in line 2-4, But you shall shine more bright in these contents/ Than
unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time. In these lines, he effectively states that his lover
will forever live in his poem, and she will never change despite the ugliness the passage of time
creates.

Additionally, both Southey and Shakespeare note how immortalizing text effects future
generations; different as their views may be. Southey manages to accomplish this through his
reaction to the older texts, whereas Shakespeare utilizes a much more convoluted approach. In
lines 13-18, Southey talks about how the texts help him face aspects of his own life. Their
virtues love, their faults condemn,/ Partake their hopes and fears,/ And from their lessons seek
and find/ Instruction with an humble mind states Southey, demonstrating his emotional response
and the benefit he finds in using the texts to avoid error in his life. Shakespeare however, states,
Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity/ Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room/
Even in the eyes of all posterity/ that wear this world out to the ending doom. This roughly
translates that while future generations may read of her and know her through the poem as a
beautiful thing, they will take no head, and as time wears on, these generations will eventually
bring the end of the world. While Shakespeare demonstrates a very different view from Southey
regarding how texts affect future generations, both do agree that there is a substantial effect of
texts which immortalize individuals.
Overall, Southey wrote a poem in hopes of finding a sort of immortality just as
Shakespeare wrote one to immortalize his lover. Just as these many other authors have done so,
both Southey and Shakespeare have found immortality through their works. While they may
have both taken very different approaches, their goal was achieved. In Southeys case, he not
only found his own immortality, but he also helped prove Freudian Theory. And so;
My days among the Dead are past;
Around me I behold,
Whereer these casual eyes are cast,
The mighty minds of old;

My never-failing friends are they,

With whom I converse day by day. (Southey, 1-5)

Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Sonnet 55. Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments. Poetry
Foundation. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
Southey, Robert. "My Days among the Dead Are Past." My Days among the Dead Are Past.
Poetry Foundation. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
Staples, Blaise. "Eros." Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology. Tarrytown: Marshall Cavendish
Reference, 2012. Credo Reference. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
Thanatos." Who's Who in Classical Mythology, Routledge. Michael Grant and John Hazel.
London: Routledge, 2002. Credo Reference. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
Unconscious Motivation." Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Psychology. Graham Davey. London:
Routledge, 2006. Credo Reference. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.