In his own old age, Eliot’s literary and public status called for him to write many tributes, eulogies and memorials for passing members of his generation; they reflect not only his critical judgements upon others’ lifetimes of work, but also an abandonment of impersonality, and a desire in his old age to confirm his personal legacy. His final Ariel poem returns to the poetic device first employed as a teenager, with the reminiscences of an old man; while his final play, The Elder Statesman, presents a titular character reflecting not only Eliot’s public persona, but his personal concerns about his past and his late realisation of the power of human love. In ‘A Dedication to My Wife’ he celebrates his unexpected discovery of love and sensual passion in old age, repudiating his lifelong vision of senescence, and concluding the old age which he had presented with such negativity in unanticipated satisfaction.