Context: The short poem "Requiem" reflects Robert Louis Stevenson's zest for adventure and travel. In the latter part of his life, Stevenson sailed from California to the Hawaiian Islands aboard a schooner, and finally to islands in the South Pacific. He spent his last days in Samoa, where he took part in the affairs of the natives and at the same time continued his writing. He was buried in Samoa, and on his monument are inscribed the last two lines of this poem. The meaning of the title is "rest" or "repose," requiem being the first word of the Introit in the Latin Mass for the Dead. The poem is as follows: