The Ship of Death (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: D. H. Lawrence
- First Published: 1932
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Suicide, Death or dying, Ships, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Separation, Afterlife, Life, philosophy of, Life and death, Aging, Autumn, Waves
The Poem
“The Ship of Death” is composed of 107 lines, divided into ten sections of varying lengths (section 4 has four lines, section 7 twenty-five lines). The title refers to the ancient burial practice of placing a model ship in the tomb with the corpse to carry the soul to heaven.
Section 1 describes the time of death as autumn, when apples fall and their seeds are dropped into the earth through the rotting fruit. Each person passes through such a period of autumn, as the person undergoes a separation of self from self. Each must prepare for such a separation....
[The entire page is 1496 words long]
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