Loth to make the saints attend her long / she's now a part both of the choir and song
-- Speaker (Lines 9 – 10)

Importance: This is one of the poem's few gestures at a conventional view of death. Here, the speaker imagines Elizabeth as part of a choir of angels, singing happily among them. This closely resembles how death would traditionally have been perceived in Donne's era, giving a positive view to the tragedy of loss. However, this quote stands essentially alone in this view of death, and it is quickly abandoned in the narrative.

Her name defined thee, gave thee form and frame
-- Speaker (Line 37)

Importance: This line exemplifies how the speaker characterizes the relationship between Elizabeth Drury and the world. He repeatedly imagines the world as existing only because of her goodness, and specifically sees her as having defined and structured the world. Now that she is gone, that structure is lost, and life on Earth has...