Yet now despair itself is mild, Even as the winds and waters are; I could lie down like a tired child, And weep away the life of care Which I have borne and yet must bear, Till death like sleep might steal on me, And I might feel in the warm air My cheek grow cold, and hear the sea Breathe o'er my dying brain its last monotony.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker finds comfort in despair, wishing to rest and die peacefully like a tired child, escaping life's burdens.
- In plain terms
- I wish I could rest and die peacefully like a tired child.
- What can you take from it?
- Despair can feel like a gentle escape from life's struggles.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What brings you peace in difficult times?
- How do you view death?
Another view
It may romanticize death as an easy escape rather than a natural process.
More from Percy Bysshe Shelley
Fear not the future, weep not for the past.
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Permalink to quote #26 With hue like that when some great painter dips His pencil in the gloom of earthquake and eclipse.
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