Death The Leveller
By James Shirley
The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill:
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still:
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death’s purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds.
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb:
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.
Summary of Death The Leveller
- Popularity of “Death The Leveller”: The poem ‘Death The Leveller’ was written by James Shirley, a great English playwright and poet of the 17th century. This poetic piece is taken from the end of his play, The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses for the Armour of Achilles. The play was written in 1659, after which it was staged several times. The unique poetic quality of these stanzas lies in their rendition of death as a patriarchal leveler.
- “Death The Leveller” As a Representative of Death as the Leveller: The poem is about the glories, pomp, and show, including blood and sweat shed in this world. The poet mentions that they are just temporary shadows. They do not last long and do not go with us to our death. However, what Fate has destined for us is death that does not forgive anyone or that it does not leave anyone, whether the person is a king or a queen. He says that the death when he lays his icy hands upon everyone, then everyone is licks the dust or goes down in the dust. Although some people become famous due to bravery and courage, yet they yield to death after killing several, for this is their fate. Everybody, whether he is a killer or a victim, is to die one day, and only the good deeds done by people would seem sweet to them in their graves.
- Major Themes in “Death The Leveller”: Transitoriness of mundane glories, the permanence of death, and the reality of dying are three major themes of this poem. The poet clearly states that the glories of this world are just shadows and that they die away with the arrival of death, the first reality of this world. Death comes as a masculine figure that takes away everybody, a soldier or a victim alike. Nothing can stay in front of death, whom the poet calls the leveler. However, in spite of death, only the just and good deeds of a person stay as memories.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Death The Leveller
literary devices are brilliant strategies that make writings meaningful. The analysis of these devices is given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /oo/ in “With the poor crooked scythe and spade” and the sound of /a/ in “There is no armour against Fate”.
- Alliteration: It is a device that means to use words in quick succession having initials consonants, such as the sound of /s/ in “smell sweet”.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sounds of /s/, the sound of /n/ and the sound of /t/ in “Are shadows, not substantial things”; the sound of /d/ and /r/ in “With the poor cooked scythe and spade” and the sound of /r/ in “And must give up their murmuring breath”.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “They stoop to fate”, “When they pale captives creep to death” and “Your heads must come.”
- Juxtaposition: The poem also shows different ideas put together for juxtaposition, such as “See where the victor-victim bleeds” and “The garlands wither on your brow.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows death as a masculine figure, comparing it to a man.
- Oxymoron: The poem shows the use of oxymorons, which means to use contradictory terms with each other such as “victor-victim.”
- Personifications: The poem shows death as if it has emotions and a life of its own, which means that the poet has personified death.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of blood, state, shadows, and hands to point out the grip of death.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in ‘Death The Leveller’
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of figurative language with a serious tone.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABABCCDD rhyming pattern in all three stanzas.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There is a total of three stanzas with each having eight verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from ‘Death The Leveller’ are relevant to use when teaching the inevitability of death.
The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds!Upon Death’s purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds.
