Key Quotes

• The title and the first line “As imperceptibly as Grief” links the idea of grief to the passing of summer.
• The tone is melancholic – “Twilight long begun” suggests that grief is overtaking her happiness.
• The images of the end of a day/season such as “dusk”, “twilight” and “Summer lapsed away” suggest the passing of time and life.
• “Summer made her light escape Into the Beautiful” suggests the passage of time is inevitable but will end in something more positive – possibly a release into heaven.
• The tone of the final words is more hopeful than the rest of the poem.