Tag Archives: grieving

The Green Knight on Handling Death

By Robin Bates | Published: March 26, 2020

“Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” is one of the most profound works I know for dealing with death.

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Mourning the Loss of a Son

By Robin Bates | Published: August 12, 2018

Longfellow turned to the story of Absolom to console a friend who had lost a son. “Chamber over the Gate” captures the grief in a supportive way.

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Poetry: Sure Solacer of Human Cares

By Robin Bates | Published: November 12, 2016

For those trapped in gloom, Emily Bronte reminds us that the Imagination is there to provide us with solace.

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Doctor Faustus: Lessons in Grieving

By Robin Bates | Published: June 2, 2016

After watching two students turn to Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” as they grieved the death of parents, I have come to see the play as a powerful meditation upon how we respond to death.

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He Doth Sit By Us and Moan

By Robin Bates | Published: August 30, 2015

Last week I was honored by my friend Jean Yeatman when she asked me to sit with her at her mother’s deathbed. We talked about childhood excursions that our families took together and also about the importance of ritual in our lives. Today’s William Blake poem is for her and her brother Clay. Blake finds […]

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If Beowulf Went to War with ISIS

By Robin Bates | Published: February 9, 2015

The Jordanian response to the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot reminds us that Grendel’s Mother is on the loose in the Middle East. Beowulf models how we should respond.

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A Message from the Mower in the Dew

By Robin Bates | Published: August 25, 2014

Robert Frost’s “Tuft of Flowers” helped me grieve for my son in ways I am only beginning to understand.

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Our Strands Grow Richer With Each Loss

By Robin Bates | Published: November 3, 2013

May Sarton’s beautiful poem “All Souls” reminds us that our dead continue to move through us.

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Destructive Grieving for a Lost America

By Robin Bates | Published: June 13, 2012

Grieving for a lost America reaches deep across the political spectrum, “Beowulf” provides a healthy response.

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