Death and the Dying by Jean de La Fontaine

Name: Death and the Dying
Author: Jean de La Fontaine

Death is inevitable and gives ample warning to those wise enough to recognize it. Neither rank, wealth, beauty, virtue, youth, nor health can resist it; even the birth of heirs may coincide with their death, and the whole world will eventually fall beneath Death’s pall. Though everyone knows this truth, people commonly ignore it. A man already well into his second century complains that Death has come upon him suddenly. He begs for time to settle his affairs: to balance his books, make his will, provide for his wife, establish his nephew’s son, and add a wing to his house. Death answers that such a visit cannot be premature for one who has lived a century and who is among the oldest men in Paris. The man has already received many warnings: his senses of taste and hearing have failed, his sight has gone, the sun and great wealth have become useless to him, and his companions have died or are dying. Death commands him to come without argument, saying that it matters little to the public good whether his will bears his hand and seal. The speaker agrees that Death is right: at such an age, a man should leave life as he would depart from a feast, giving thanks to the giver of its varied pleasures and accepting his bier without complaint. Yet old men often resist most fiercely, even while younger people meet glorious or famous deaths without fear. Those nearest to Death, the poem concludes, are often those who dread him most.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 755 words

First lines

Death never taketh by surprise / The well-prepared, to wit, the wise -- / They knowing of themselves the time / To meditate the final change of clime. / That time, alas! embraces all / Which into hours and minutes we divide; / There is no part, however small, / That from this tribute one can hide. / The very moment, oft, which bids / The heirs of empire see the light / Is that which shuts their fringèd lids / In everlasting night. / Defend yourself by rank and wealth, / Plead beauty, virtue, youth, and health, -- / Unblushing Death will ravish all; / The world itself shall pass beneath his pall. / No truth is better known; but, truth to say, / No truth is oftener thrown away.

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Genres

Fable — The poem uses the personified figure of Death and a brief illustrative encounter with an old man to deliver a clear moral lesson about mortality and preparation for death.
Didactic Poetry — Its principal purpose is instruction: it admonishes readers to recognize death's inevitability and to accept it without futile complaint.
Philosophical Poetry — The work reflects on universal questions of mortality, time, human denial, aging, and the proper attitude toward life's end.
Moral Poetry — The speaker explicitly judges the old man's reluctance and advances a moral ideal of gratitude, readiness, and resignation.

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Death and the Dying is listed on Textopian as a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, dated 1678 CE.

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Work type: Fable
Author: Jean de La Fontaine
Date: 1678 CE
Language: English
Genres: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Moral Poetry, Allegory
Length: 755 words
Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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