Contrary to popular belief, it was not Shakespeare, but Lord A. Tennyson, who wrote the poem (In memoriam A.H.H.) of which the most frequently quoted lines are:

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

Although these lines were written over a period of 17 years (completed in 1849) to grieve over the death of his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam [1], they are nowadays often used to express the ending of a romantic relationship.

Reading the poem as it was actually meant: would you say that it is better to have loved and suddenly lost someone, or to have never really known and loved this person in the first place? Or would you even rather forget after losing them?

To have loved and lost Never to have loved at all Forget to have loved see voting resultssaving...
2 opinions, 2 replies
Add your opinion:
Preview:
(mouse over or touch to update)
Add your opinion
0
User voted To have loved and lost.
0 votes
Jul 26, 2015

"To make the journey and not fall deeply in love... Well, you haven't lived a life at all." - Meet Joe Black

Definitely to have loved and lost. For me, if I've never loved, I guess I would always have this feeling of a great regret, regret that I haven't found my soulmate and I haven't experienced what true love is. I think the things we regret the most in life are things we haven't tried, but they were all depended on us.

If I've never loved, I guess I would also feel very lonely. If I lost my beloved one, I could at least use my memories and imagination to go back to the moments we shared together, making the feeling of loneliness lessened. I know it's irrational, but I could also imagine one day we'll meet again.

I would definitely rather miss her than my lost chances to fall in love.

subscribe
::unhide-discussion::
0
main reply
0 votes,
Jul 30, 2015

The poem (and this post) is not about falling in love though. It's about caring for someone you knew, to let them shape your life (as you shape theirs) by experiencing it together or to miss out on the chance to know this person, let alone care about them. To forget someone is to forget how this person has influenced your life (for the better or worse).

subscribe
::unhide-discussion::
0
main reply
0 votes,
Aug 14, 2015

well I never fell in love even after going out with girl, i tried my best to analyze my feeling and I still can't find anyone I love aside from my family (family's love is different from love from what I think) and well I think its better to have loved 'cause you feel awkward and out of society if you can't love(even if you don't love it dosn't mean you can't like so i still have friend and for me the feeling the closest to love is a great frienship) also when you don't know what love is you can't trust loveand for me who use my imagination for nearly everything I feel like something is missing so a short happiness is better than no happiness

subscribe
0
User voted To have loved and lost.
0 votes
Sep 28, 2015

To have loved and lost. Because, in the final analysis, there was no loss, only gain.

When we meet someone amazing who we are connected to, we grow and so do they. We are both enriched permanently.

It stings tremendously when they leave. But when we learn to let go of the past that had them in it and just embrace what we had already gotten from them, we learn that everything we are is better off for having met them.

subscribe
Add your opinion
Challenge someone to answer this topic:
Invite an OpiWiki user:
OR
Invite your friend via email:
OR
Share it: