64–76 Lycidas died young, before poetry could make him famous. ... 88–102 “[T]he Herald of the Sea” insists that Lycidas died because his boat was defective, not because of a storm. 103–7 The River Cam (standing in for Cambridge University) laments that the death of Lycidas was a great loss to scholarship.

What was the cause of Lycidas death?

The ship is what "sunk so low that sacred head of thine." In other words, "The ship is what drowned you, Lycidas." Eclipses were once considered evil omens, and the speaker implies that because the ship was built during one it was "rigged with curses dark," which caused Lycidas' death.

How did Lycidas death a premature death?

He was drowned while crossing from Chester Bay to Dublin, his ship having struck a rock and foundered in calm weather.