Requiem

The song 'Requiem' from the musical 'Dear Evan Hansen' delves into the complex emotions surrounding grief and loss. The characters Zoe, Larry, and Cynthia each express their refusal to mourn in the traditional sense for a person who has deeply hurt them. Zoe, the sister of the deceased, questions the authenticity of playing the role of a grieving person when her true feelings are conflicted. She grapples with the societal expectation to exhibit sorrow and the reality of her emotions, which are not solely based on loss but also on the pain caused by her brother during his life.

Larry, the father, expresses a sense of betrayal and waste, feeling that his efforts and love were discarded. Cynthia, the mother, finds a sense of closeness to her son in the lyrics, suggesting that she feels his presence and therefore does not need to perform grief. The song challenges the notion that grief must be performed in a certain way and recognizes that the relationship between the living and the deceased can be fraught with unresolved issues and negative emotions.

The lyrics also touch on the idea that society often has a black-and-white view of death and mourning, ignoring the complexities of human relationships. The characters reject the idea of mourning someone who was a 'monster' in their lives, suggesting that not all losses are mourned equally, and that sometimes, the end of suffering can be a relief rather than a cause for traditional expressions of grief.