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How wonderful is death! Death and his brother sleep.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Death is portrayed as a peaceful state, akin to sleep, suggesting a serene view of mortality.

In this quote, Percy Bysshe Shelley reflects on the nature of death, presenting it not as something to fear but as a natural, beautiful transition comparable to sleep. This perspective invites contemplation on the value of life and the acceptance of death as a part of the human experience, ultimately promoting a sense of tranquility about mortality.

Themes

DeathSleepLifeMortalityPeace

In practice

Example use cases

In a eulogy, one might say, 'How wonderful is death, as it allows us to remember the beauty of life.'

More from Percy Bysshe Shelley

A dream has power to poison sleep.
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Senseless is the breast and cold _x000D_ _x000D_ Which relenting love would fold;_x000D_ _x000D_ Bloodless are the veins and chill _x000D_ _x000D_ Which the pulse of pain did fill; _x000D_ _x000D_ Every little living nerve _x000D_ _x000D_ That from bitter words did swerve _x000D_ _x000D_ Round the tortur'd lips and brow, _x000D_ _x000D_ Are like sapless leaflets now _x000D_ _x000D_ Frozen upon December's bough.
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A sensitive plant in a garden grew,_x000D_ _x000D_ And the young winds fed it with silver dew,_x000D_ _x000D_ And it opened its fan_x000D_ _x000D_ like leaves to the light,_x000D_ _x000D_ and closed them beneath the kisses of night.
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I am the daughter of Earth and Water, And the nursling of the Sky; I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores; I change, but I cannot die. For after the rain when with never a stain The pavilion of Heaven is bare, And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams Build up the blue dome of air, I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, And out of the caverns of rain, Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, I arise and unbuild it again.
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O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?
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Ah, woe is me! Winter is come and gone. But grief returns with the revolving year.
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Quote by Percy Bysshe Shelley | QuoteProject