Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1809-1892, was and remains one of Britain’s favourite poets. He is the ninth most quoted author in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations so it’s not surprising that he is the source of many headstone inscriptions. Perhaps the one that appears most regularly comes from The Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington: ‘The path of duty was the way to glory’. Even though this is counter-balanced by the regular appearance of Thomas Gray’s ‘The paths of glory lead but to the grave’ from his Elegy in a Country Churchyard.
A read through the associated inscriptions will give you an indication of the variety of Tennyson’s sentiments that appealed to the bereaved.
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