Lyric Poem · Death & Loss

To Mary Who Died in This Opinion

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Reading room

1Maiden, quench the glare of sorrow

2Struggling in thine haggard eye:

3Firmness dare to borrow

4From the wreck of destiny;

5For the ray morn's bloom revealing

6Can never boast so bright an hue

7As that which mocks concealing,

8And sheds its loveliest light on you.

9Yet is the tie departed

10Which bound thy lovely soul to bliss?

11Has it left thee broken-hearted

12In a world so cold as this?

13Yet, though, fainting fair one,

14Sorrow's self thy cup has given,

15Dream thou'lt meet thy dear one,

16Never more to part, in Heaven.

17Existence would I barter

18For a dream so dear as thine,

19And smile to die a martyr

20On affection's bloodless shrine.

21Nor would I change for pleasure

22That withered hand and ashy cheek,

23If my heart enshrined a treasure

24Such as forces thine to break.

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“To Mary Who Died in This Opinion” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — quilloak.com/poems/to-mary-who-died-in-this-opinion

Quick facts

Poem: To Mary Who Died in This Opinion
Poet: Percy Bysshe Shelley
Length: 24 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Death & Loss, Sad, Dreams & Sleep

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Shape: 24 lines · 3 octaves
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Author record: Percy Bysshe Shelley1792–1822
Source record: PoetryDBTo Mary Who Died in This Opinion 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 994b245c1c689f86…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Death & Loss Sad Dreams & Sleep

To Mary Who Died in This Opinion

Quick facts

How this poem works

A traceable edition

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