Question: Why does it appear that the poet is not ascertaining death in the first stanza?
Ans: The choice to hide the death between the stanzas is interesting. It could possibly be because of the inability of the poet to express in words, his pain and sudden loss. It can also be inferred that the poem may be less about the poet’s lack of having any human fears, than about his belief in the young woman’s power. Indeed, he seems to have built her up in his mind into a Goddess, untouched by age and mortality. This desire to keep her perpetually young is a testament to the poet’s feelings for the young woman.