A Dialogue by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Death offers a grieving Mortal the oblivion of the grave. The Mortal asks what follows death, and Death promises a spirit of Love for the good while refusing to unveil eternity. Torn between longing for rest and duty, with concern that a friend might grieve, the Mortal ends by asking Death to take their form.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Romantic Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 558 words
First lines
DEATH: / For my dagger is bathed in the blood of the brave, / I come, care-worn tenant of life, from the grave, / Where Innocence sleeps ‘neath the peace-giving sod, / And the good cease to tremble at Tyranny's nod; / I offer a calm habitation to thee,- / Say, victim of grief, wilt thou slumber with me? / My mansion is damp, cold silence is there, / But it lulls in oblivion the fiends of despair; / Not a groan of regret, not a sigh, not a breath, / Dares dispute with grim Silence the empire of Death. / I offer a calm habitation to thee,- / Say, victim of grief, wilt thou slumber with me?
Genres
- Romantic Poetry — Personified Death offers relief from despair, while the Mortal voices longing, concern for others and attraction to the promised light of Love.
- Philosophical Poetry — The verse dialogue asks what awaits beyond death and weighs the desire to escape suffering against duty and the possible grief of a surviving friend.
Tags
dialogue · death · romanticism · mortality · love · philosophy · verse drama
What this Textopian page supports
A Dialogue is listed on Textopian as a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Romantic Poetry, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 558 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for A Dialogue by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- 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