O Death, O Death, Rock Me Asleep



O Death, O Death, rock me asleep,
    Bring me to quiet rest;
    Let pass my weary guiltless ghost
    Out of my careful breast.
      Toll on, thou passing bell;
      Ring out my doleful knell;
      Thy sound my death abroad will tell,
      For I must die,
      There is no remedy.

    My pains, my pains, who can express?
  Alas, they are so strong!
  My dolours will not suffer strength
  My life for to prolong.
    Toll on, thou passing bell;
    Ring out my doleful knell;
    Thy sound my death abroad will tell,
      For I must die,
      There is no remedy.

    Alone, alone in prison strong
  I wail my destiny:
  Woe worth this cruel hap that I
  Must taste this misery!
    Toll on, thou passing bell;
    Ring out my doleful knell;
    Thy sound my death abroad will tell,
      For I must die,
      There is no remedy.

    Farewell, farewell, my pleasures past!
  Welcome, my present pain!
  I feel my torment so increase
  That life cannot remain.
    Cease now, thou passing bell,
    Ring out my doleful knoll,
  For thou my death dost tell:
  Lord, pity thou my soul!
    Death doth draw nigh,
    Sound dolefully:
    For now I die,
    I die, I die.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

59 sec read
245

Quick analysis:

Scheme xaxaBBBCD xexeBBBCD edcdBBBCD xfxfbgbgcbcc
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,146
Words 197
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 9, 9, 9, 12

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    "O Death, O Death, Rock Me Asleep" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/3430/o-death,-o-death,-rock-me-asleep>.

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