Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE SINGER by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

Poet Analysis

First Line: WHILE WITH AMBITION'S HECTIC
Last Line: TO ASHES AS HE SINGS.
Subject(s): DEATH; SINGING & SINGERS; DEAD, THE;
WHILE with Ambition's hectic flame
He wastes the midnight oil,
And dreams, high-throned on heights of fame,
To rest him from his toil, --

Death's Angel, like a vast eclipse,
Above him spreads her wings,
And fans the embers of his lips
To ashes as he sings.



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