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About this quote

What does it mean?
Life as we know it is like a veil or sleep, and death reveals the true reality beneath.
In plain terms
Death is not an end but a lifting of the mask of ordinary life.
What can you take from it?
Death may reveal a deeper reality than daily existence.

Where it applies

  • existential reflection
  • grief
  • philosophical debate

Putting it to work

  • meditation
  • philosophical study
  • end of life care

Questions to consider

  • Is life a dream?
  • What lies beyond the veil?

Another view

This view assumes death brings clarity, which is not universally accepted.

More from Percy Bysshe Shelley

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