Lyric Poem · Nature

Epitaph

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Reading room

1These are two friends whose lives were undivided;

2So let their memory be, now they have glided

3Under the grave; let not their bones be parted,

4For their two hearts in life were single-hearted.

5 This morn thy gallant bark

6 Sailed on a sunny sea:

7 'Tis noon, and tempests dark

8 Have wrecked it on the lee.

9 Ah woe! ah woe!

10 By Spirits of the deep

11 Thou'rt cradled on the billow

12 To thy eternal sleep.

13 Thou sleep'st upon the shore

14 Beside the knelling surge,

15 And Sea-nymphs evermore

16 Shall sadly chant thy dirge.

17 They come, they come,

18 The Spirits of the deep, —

19 While near thy seaweed pillow

20 My lonely watch I keep.

21 From far across the sea

22 I hear a loud lament,

23 By Echo's voice for thee

24 From Ocean's caverns sent.

25 O list! O list!

26 The Spirits of the deep!

27 They raise a wail of sorrow,

28 While I forever weep.

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“Epitaph” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/epitaph

Quick facts

Poem: Epitaph
Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length: 28 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Sad, Death & Loss

Craft notes

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Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 28 lines · 4 stanzas of 4–8 lines
Line length: Mostly 6-syllable lines (trimeter length).

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Author record: Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record: PoetryDBEpitaph by percy-bysshe-shelley, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 8ddee362aa79f27e…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Sad Death & Loss

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