The poem is regarded as an elegy or an extended metaphor about the death of American president Abraham Lincoln. The poem gained even more popularity thanks to the 1989 film Dead Poets Society (director Peter Weir), where the whole class recites it standing on desks.

The number of Georgian translations of the poem which appeared recently can be partially explained by the film. In the present collection the readers are offered to savor its twelve versions by: Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Medea Zaalishvili, Vasil Guleuri, Nino Dolidze, Dalila Bedianidze, Nana Gasviani, Paata Shamugia, Lela Ebralidze, Nata Varada, Salome Benidze, Karda Kardukhi and Irakli Kakabadze.