First published in Siegfried Sassoon's 1917 book The Old Huntsman, "The Death Bed" depicts a young wounded soldier as he lies dying. As the soldier slips in and out of consciousness, it seems as if he's resting peacefully—but soon terrible pain grips him, and death, in personified form, arrives to take him away in spite of his youth. The poem ends with the far-off "thudding of the guns," a sound that implies this unfortunate young man won't be the last to die in the futile, bloody First World War.
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The Full Text of “The Death Bed”
1He drowsed and was aware of silence heaped
2Round him, unshaken as the steadfast walls;
3Aqueous like floating rays of amber light,
4Soaring and quivering in the wings of sleep.
5Silence and safety; and his mortal shore
6Lipped by the inward, moonless waves of death.
7Someone was holding water to his mouth.
8He swallowed, unresisting; moaned and dropped
9Through crimson gloom to darkness; and forgot
10The opiate throb and ache that was his wound.
11Water—calm, sliding green above the weir;
12Water—a sky-lit alley for his boat,
13Bird-voiced, and bordered with reflected flowers
14And shaken hues of summer: drifting down,
15He dipped contented oars, and sighed, and slept.
16Night, with a gust of wind, was in the ward,
17Blowing the curtain to a gummering curve.
18Night. He was blind; he could not see the stars
19Glinting among the wraiths of wandering cloud;
20Queer blots of colour, purple, scarlet, green,
21Flickered and faded in his drowning eyes.
22Rain—he could hear it rustling through the dark;
23Fragrance and passionless music woven as one;
24Warm rain on drooping roses; pattering showers
25That soak the woods; not the harsh rain that sweeps
26Behind the thunder, but a trickling peace,
27Gently and slowly washing life away.
28He stirred, shifting his body; then the pain
29Leaped like a prowling beast, and gripped and tore
30His groping dreams with grinding claws and fangs.
31But someone was beside him; soon he lay
32Shuddering because that evil thing had passed.
33And death, who'd stepped toward him, paused and stared.
34Light many lamps and gather round his bed.
35Lend him your eyes, warm blood, and will to live.
36Speak to him; rouse him; you may save him yet.
37He's young; he hated war; how should he die
38When cruel old campaigners win safe through?
39But death replied: “I choose him.” So he went,
40And there was silence in the summer night;
41Silence and safety; and the veils of sleep.
42Then, far away, the thudding of the guns.
The Full Text of “The Death Bed”
1He drowsed and was aware of silence heaped
2Round him, unshaken as the steadfast walls;
3Aqueous like floating rays of amber light,
4Soaring and quivering in the wings of sleep.
5Silence and safety; and his mortal shore
6Lipped by the inward, moonless waves of death.
7Someone was holding water to his mouth.
8He swallowed, unresisting; moaned and dropped
9Through crimson gloom to darkness; and forgot
10The opiate throb and ache that was his wound.
11Water—calm, sliding green above the weir;
12Water—a sky-lit alley for his boat,
13Bird-voiced, and bordered with reflected flowers
14And shaken hues of summer: drifting down,
15He dipped contented oars, and sighed, and slept.
16Night, with a gust of wind, was in the ward,
17Blowing the curtain to a gummering curve.
18Night. He was blind; he could not see the stars
19Glinting among the wraiths of wandering cloud;
20Queer blots of colour, purple, scarlet, green,
21Flickered and faded in his drowning eyes.
22Rain—he could hear it rustling through the dark;
23Fragrance and passionless music woven as one;
24Warm rain on drooping roses; pattering showers
25That soak the woods; not the harsh rain that sweeps
26Behind the thunder, but a trickling peace,
27Gently and slowly washing life away.
28He stirred, shifting his body; then the pain
29Leaped like a prowling beast, and gripped and tore
30His groping dreams with grinding claws and fangs.
31But someone was beside him; soon he lay
32Shuddering because that evil thing had passed.
33And death, who'd stepped toward him, paused and stared.
34Light many lamps and gather round his bed.
35Lend him your eyes, warm blood, and will to live.
36Speak to him; rouse him; you may save him yet.
37He's young; he hated war; how should he die
38When cruel old campaigners win safe through?
39But death replied: “I choose him.” So he went,
40And there was silence in the summer night;
41Silence and safety; and the veils of sleep.
42Then, far away, the thudding of the guns.
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“The Death Bed” Summary
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“The Death Bed” Themes
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The Tragedy of War
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Death Bed”
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Lines 1-6
He drowsed and was aware of silence heaped
Round him, unshaken as the steadfast walls;
Aqueous like floating rays of amber light,
Soaring and quivering in the wings of sleep.
Silence and safety; and his mortal shore
Lipped by the inward, moonless waves of death. -
Lines 7-10
Someone was holding water to his mouth.
He swallowed, unresisting; moaned and dropped
Through crimson gloom to darkness; and forgot
The opiate throb and ache that was his wound. -
Lines 11-15
Water—calm, sliding green above the weir;
Water—a sky-lit alley for his boat,
Bird-voiced, and bordered with reflected flowers
And shaken hues of summer: drifting down,
He dipped contented oars, and sighed, and slept. -
Lines 16-21
Night, with a gust of wind, was in the ward,
Blowing the curtain to a gummering curve.
Night. He was blind; he could not see the stars
Glinting among the wraiths of wandering cloud;
Queer blots of colour, purple, scarlet, green,
Flickered and faded in his drowning eyes. -
Lines 22-27
Rain—he could hear it rustling through the dark;
Fragrance and passionless music woven as one;
Warm rain on drooping roses; pattering showers
That soak the woods; not the harsh rain that sweeps
Behind the thunder, but a trickling peace,
Gently and slowly washing life away. -
Lines 28-33
He stirred, shifting his body; then the pain
Leaped like a prowling beast, and gripped and tore
His groping dreams with grinding claws and fangs.
But someone was beside him; soon he lay
Shuddering because that evil thing had passed.
And death, who'd stepped toward him, paused and stared. -
Lines 34-38
Light many lamps and gather round his bed.
Lend him your eyes, warm blood, and will to live.
Speak to him; rouse him; you may save him yet.
He's young; he hated war; how should he die
When cruel old campaigners win safe through? -
Lines 39-42
But death replied: “I choose him.” So he went,
And there was silence in the summer night;
Silence and safety; and the veils of sleep.
Then, far away, the thudding of the guns.
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“The Death Bed” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Caesura
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Consonance
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Imagery
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Metaphor
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Parataxis
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Personification
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Repetition
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Rhetorical Question
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Simile
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Assonance
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“The Death Bed” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Drowsed
- Heaped
- Steadfast
- Aqueous
- Lipped
- Crimson
- Opiate throb
- Weir
- Hues
- Gummering
- Wraiths
- Queer
- Blots
- Scarlet
- Pattering
- Prowling
- Groping
- Rouse
- Campaigners
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Death Bed”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Death Bed” Speaker
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“The Death Bed” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Death Bed”
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More “The Death Bed” Resources
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External Resources
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World War I Poetry — Learn about a selection of the most significant poems from the First World War.
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Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen — Watch a clip dramatizing the meeting between the war's two most important poets.
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The Old Huntsman — Explore the full collection in which "The Death Bed" was published.
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World War I In Color — Watch a clip of director Peter Jackson discussing his recent WWI film, They Shall Not Grow Old. Though technology, Jackson brings old war footage to vivid life, restoring a sense of the soldiers as actual people.
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Sassoon's Life and Work — Watch a BBC panel show in which experts discuss Sassoon and his poetry.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Siegfried Sassoon
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