Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DEATH by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES

Poet Analysis

First Line: BEAUTY'LL BE NO FAIRER THAN
Last Line: FITS THEIR SKULLS FOR BELLS, NOT CROWNS.
Subject(s): DEATH; DEAD, THE;
Beauty'll be no fairer than
Aged dame so shrunk and wan,
Whom she looks on proudly. Now,
Did Death strike them sudden low,
Strike them down, a little while
Vanished Beauty's velvet smile,
Ugly grinner she, and few
Mark the difference 'tween these two.
Nothing here shall arbitrate,
Chivalry intimidate,
Hour of doom, or change Death's laws;
Kings hire no ambassadors.
Death makes monarchs grinning clowns,
Fits their skulls for bells, not crowns.



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