Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON DEATH by JOHN KEATS

Poet Analysis

First Line: CAN DEATH BE SLEEP, WHEN LIFE IS BUT A DREAM
Last Line: HIS FUTURE DOOM WHICH IS BUT TO AWAKE.
Subject(s): DEATH; DEAD, THE;
I.

CAN death be sleep, when life is but a dream,
And scenes of bliss pass as a phantom by?
The transient pleasures as a vision seem,
And yet we think the greatest pain's to die.

II.

How strange it is that man on earth should roam,
And lead a life of woe, but not forsake
His rugged path; nor dare he view alone
His future doom which is but to awake.



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