"Lycidas," a poem written by John Milton as a memorial to Edward King, a classmate at Cambridge, reflects Milton's reverence for nature, his admiration of Greek Mythology, and his deeply ingrained Christian belief system. In "Lycidas," Milton combines powerful images from nature and Greek Mythology along with Biblical references in order to ease the pain associated with the premature death of King. King drowns at sea in the prime of his life and Milton is left to make sense of this tragedy. Milton not only mourns the loss of a friend; he is also forced to face his own mortality. Milton questions the significance of writing poetry when he will inevitably die. Milton copes with the subject of death by insisting on the glory of a Christian life and the promise of rebirth into the joyous spiritual world of heaven after death.

Milton begins "Lycidas...