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Is it better to have loved and lost or never to have loved at all? (+ extra option)

Added Jul 24, 2015

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?