"O Death Rock Me Asleep" is a Tudor-era poem, traditionally attributed to

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

. It was written shortly before her execution in 1536 and after

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

was born.

Authorship

The poem is generally attributed to Anne Boleyn, and is assumed to have been composed whilst she was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. However, the evidence for Boleyn's authorship is not entirely conclusive. It has been postulated that the poem was actually written by Boleyn's brother Lord Rochford.

Analysis

The poem was written in the last days of Anne's life and is a reflection on her suffering. In it, she observes that her end cannot be avoided, and that it will at least give her peace and an escape from her present sufferings.

Structure

The poem has a fairly loose structure, with most lines either being

tetrameter In poetry, a tetrameter is a line of four metrical feet. The particular foot can vary, as follows: * '' Anapestic tetrameter:'' ** "And the ''sheen'' of their ''spears'' was like ''stars'' on the ''sea''" (Lord Byron, "The Destruction of Sennach ...

trimeter In poetry, a trimeter (Greek for "three measure") is a metre of three metrical feet per line. Examples: : When here // the spring // we see, : Fresh green // upon // the tree. See also * Anapaest * Dactyl * Tristich A tercet is composed of ...

. At the end of each major stanza, there is a refrain, varying slightly, about the nearing of death and how it is inevitable.

Text

:O death! rock me asleep, : Bring me the quiet rest; :Let pass my weary guiltless ghost : Out of my careful breast: :Toll on the passing bell, :Ring out the doleful knell, :Let thy sound my death tell, : Death doth draw nigh; : There is no remedy. :My pains who can express? : Alas! they are so strong, :My dolour will not suffer strength : My life for to prolong: :Toll on, thou passing bell, :Ring out my doleful knell, :Let thy sound my death tell, : Death doth draw nigh; : There is no remedy. :Alone in prison strong, : I wait my destiny, :Woe worth this cruel hap that I : Should taste this misery? :Toll on, thou passing bell, :Let thy sound my death tell, : Death doth draw nigh, : There is no remedy. :Farewell my pleasures past, : Welcome my present pain! :I feel my torments so increase : That life cannot remain. :Cease now,thou passing bell; :Rung is my doleful knell, :For the sound my death doth tell, : Death doth draw nigh, : There is no remedy.

References

{{Anne Boleyn 1536 works 16th-century poems Early Modern English poems Anne Boleyn