Death and the Unfortunate by Jean de La Fontaine

A poor and unhappy man, overwhelmed by life’s suffering, repeatedly calls on Death to take him away. When Death actually appears at his door with a ghastly grin, the man is terrified by the sight and urgently begs Death to withdraw and not come nearer. The poem reinforces this reversal through words attributed to Maecenas: even if he were reduced to extreme poverty, hunger, sickness, disability, and rags, he would still choose the freedom to remain alive. Rather than seeking Death, he would ask only that it stay away forever.

By Jean de La Fontaine · First published 1678 · Genre: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Moral Tale · 268 words

First lines

A poor unfortunate, from day to day, / Call'd Death to take him from this world away. / 'O Death' he said, 'to me how fair thy form! / Come quick, and end for me life's cruel storm. ' / Death heard, and with a ghastly grin, / Knock'd at his door, and enter'd in / 'Take out this object from my sight! ' / The poor man loudly cried. / 'Its dreadful looks I can't abide; / O stay him, stay him' let him come no nigher; / O Death! O Death! I pray thee to retire!'

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Genres

• Fable — This brief moral narrative personifies Death and presents a poor man's reversal from desiring death to fearing it, ending with an explicit lesson about the human desire to live.
• Didactic Poetry — Written in verse, the work aims chiefly to instruct readers through a concise example and a concluding moral reflection attributed to Maecenas and Aesop.
• Moral Tale — The plot dramatizes a universal ethical and psychological truth: even those crushed by suffering commonly cling to life when death becomes immediate.
• Allegory — Death functions as a personified abstract force, while the unfortunate man represents human fear, misery, and the instinct for self-preservation.

Tags

French fable · verse narrative · seventeenth-century literature · moral allegory · poverty · human suffering · despair · wish for death · fear of death · love of life · will to survive · death personified

What this Textopian page supports

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

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Fable
• Author: Jean de La Fontaine
• Date: 1678 CE
• Language: English
• Genres: Fable, Didactic Poetry, Moral Tale, Allegory, Philosophical Poetry
• Length: 268 words
• Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

Good citation fit

• Work identity for Death and the Unfortunate by Jean de La Fontaine
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
• Readability and classroom-planning context
• Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

More by Jean de La Fontaine

• To Monseigneur the Dauphin (1668)
• The Grasshopper and the Ant (1668)
• The Raven and the Fox (1668)
• The Frog that Wished to be as Big as the Ox (1668)
• The Two Mules (1668)
• The Wolf and the Dog (1668)
• The Heifer, the Goat, and the Sheep, in Company with the Lion (1668)
• The Wallet (1668)
• All works by Jean de La Fontaine