Hugo was a poet acquainted with the tragedy of unexpectedly losing a loved one. So it is unsurprising that his poetry is often occupied by questions about death, grief, and how to renew a life made vacant by a beloved's absence. But compared to some of his other poems, this one wrestles with the question of death at arm's length. Opting for the personified perspective of a grave and rose as opposed to that of a person who has just lost someone.