Ye Hasten to the Grave! what Seek Ye There
The speaker questions the heart, mind, thoughts, and purposes that hurry through life toward the grave. He asks why they seek refuge from both happiness and sorrow in death, and what they hope to inherit there.
By Percy Bysshe Shelley · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 171 words
First lines
Ye hasten to the grave! What seek ye there, / Ye restless thoughts and busy purposes / Of the idle brain, which the world's livery wear? / O thou quick heart, which pantest to possess / All that pale Expectation feigneth fair! / Thou vainly curious mind which wouldest guess / Whence thou didst come, and whither thou must go, / And all that never yet was known would know- / Oh, whither hasten ye, that thus ye press, / With such swift feet life's green and pleasant path, / Seeking, alike from happiness and woe, / A refuge in the cavern of gray death? / O heart, and mind, and thoughts! what thing do you / Hope to inherit in the grave below?
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The speaker directly addresses the heart, mind, and thoughts in rhymed verse, questioning their desires and restless haste.
- Philosophical Poetry — The questions concern life's origin and destination, the desire to know the unknown, and what death could offer.
Tags
mortality · restless thought · desire · limits of knowledge
What this Textopian page supports
Ye Hasten to the Grave! what Seek Ye There 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: Lyric Poetry, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 171 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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