Fragment: 'The Death Knell Is Ringing'
The death knell is ringing The raven is singing The earth worm is creeping The mourners are weeping Ding dong, bell--
Percy Bysshe Shelley
The death knell is ringing The raven is singing The earth worm is creeping The mourners are weeping Ding dong, bell--
Shelley sketches a funeral scene in just a few stark strokes. A death knell tolls, a raven sings—its presence suggesting doom—while an earthworm inches through the soil, a quiet reminder of decay. Mourners weep, and then the fragment breaks off mid-chime: “Ding dong, bell--”.
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