In Memoriam A.H.H. - Tennyson

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.

This stanza is to be found in Canto 27. The last two lines are usually taken as offering a meditation on the dissolution of a romantic relationship. However the lines originally referred to the death of the poet's beloved friend.

Another much-quoted phrase from the poem is "nature, red in tooth and claw," found in Canto 56, referring to humanity:

Who trusted God was love indeed
And love Creation's final law Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw With ravine, shriek'd against his creed

Also, the following are found in Canto 54

So runs my dream, but what am I?
An infant crying in the night
An infant crying for the light
And with no language but a cry.