Adieu, farewell, earth's bliss, p. 316

From the first stanza in this poem, irony is evident, “Adieu, farewell, earth’s bliss;/this world uncertain is;/fond are life’s lustful joys;/death proves them all but toys;”, where fond is used to mean foolish. The poet is blatantly stating that no matter what pleasure one may have found on earth, death will supersede them all.  Also, the constant repetition at the end of every stanza are the lines, “I am sick, I must die./Lord, have mercy on us!”, which proves the poet’s desire to part with the earth and enter the afterlife with the line “I must die”, yet he ironically also states “Lord, have mercy on us!”, even though he has already manifested his belief that death is more welcoming than life. The poet also makes a couple allusions to Greek mythology, specifically the Trojan War, when he references Helen and Hector. With both lines, “Queens have died young and fair;/Dust hath closed Helen’s eye” and “Worms feed on Hector’s brave;/Swords may not fight with fate,” he is referring to the inevitably of death, and also how accomplishments made on earth have no bearing on death. He further reinstates this idea with the final stanza “Haste,  therefore, each degree,/To welcome destiny;/Heaven is our heritage,/Earth but a player’s stage;/Mount we unto the sky./I am sick, I must die./Lord, have mercy on us.” This stanza basically says that everyone dies in the end, but heaven is where we are destined to be. The main idea that the poet is conveying with this work is that death should not be something that is feared, rather something that should be embraced.

The first time I read this poem, I did not pay too much attention to the specific diction used by the poet, and I interpreted the poem as being about regretful about death. However, upon a second, more analytical look at the poem, I noticed the irony that the poet uses, and how it completely changes the meaning of the work. The poem gives an alternate view to death which most authors do not express. This is a rather optimistic portrayal of death and offers a unique perspective on a frequently written about topic.