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A poem by the Scottish author and poet Robert Louis Stevenson, who died in 1894. The poem expresses his wish to be buried under the starry sky, where he felt at home as a sailor and a hunter.
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- Summary
- Themes
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Detailed Analysis
- Similar Poetry
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‘Requiem’ by Robert Louis Stevenson is a short poem that describes someone’s wishes after they pass away. The poem starts with a stanza describing the landscape in which the speaker wants to be buried. He wants to be somewhere peaceful, away from the city and under the stars. His wishes are fulfilled, the second stanza indicates. This is seen throu...
The main theme of this poem is death. The poet speaks about death in a way that makes it feel peaceful rather than fearful. The speaker whose grave is described in the two-stanza poem was not afraid to die. He accepted his death willingly and knew exactly where he wanted to be buried.
‘Requiem’ by Robert Louis Stevenson is a simple two-stanza poem that is divided into quatrains or sets of four lines. These quatrains follow a steady rhyme scheme of AAAB AAAB. The poet uses the same two end sounds throughout the entire poem. All the words either rhymewith “sky” or “will.” The poet also chose to use lines of very similar lengths. T...
Throughout this poem, the poet uses a few different literary devices. They include: 1. Alliteration: the repetitionof the same consonant sound at the beginning of multiple words. For example, “starry sky” and “Glad” and “gladly,” join lines one and three of stanza one respectively. 2. Imagery: the use of particularly interesting images. For example...
Stanza One
In the first lines of ‘Requiem,’ the poet begins by describing a scene. It’s a wide, open landscape that allows for a broad view of the night sky. It’s clear this place is away from the city and is likely very remote and peaceful. The sky is “starry,” suggesting that there are no, or few, clouds in the sky. The poet uses very simple language to ask that he be buried in a grave under this wide open sky and stars. He’s happy to talk about his end and where he wants to end up and does so without...
Stanza Two
The second stanza includes three lines in italics. The poet chose to use this format in order to distinguish the speaker’s words from the words that someone else wrote in memory of the person. The fact that the speaker knows these words indicates that he’s speaking from beyond the grave. The person the entire poem is directed to was also responsible for choosing the words on his gravestone. This is someone who is clearly quite close to the speaker, perhaps a family member or a very close frie...
Readers who enjoyed this poem should also consider reading some other Robert Louis Stevenson poems. For example: 1. ‘Autumn Fires’ – a poem that celebrates the autumn season. 2. ‘My Shadow’ – a children’s poem about a child trying to understand his own shadow. 3. ‘Looking-Glass River’ – a children’s poem about a river and life itself.
A short poem about accepting death and finding peace in going home. The speaker describes their wishes for a grave under the stars and a three-line inscription that compares death to coming home for a sailor or a hunter.
- Female
- October 9, 1995
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
“Requiem” offers us several moving fictions. The principal inducer of make-believe here is the utter smoothness and rhythmic consistency of the poem.
A short and simple poem expressing the speaker's wish to be buried under the starry sky, where he feels at home. The poem reflects the themes of acceptance, peace and grace in the face of death.
A poem by the Scottish author and travel writer, engraved on his grave. It expresses his wish to lie under the starry sky, and compares death to a sea and a hill.
In this short and powerful poem, Robert Louis Stevenson's writes from the perspective of the deceased who calmly faces death with peace and contentment. The poem's message is one of comfort and acceptance, viewing death as a return home.
Requiem. UNDER the wide and starry sky. Dig the grave and let me lie: Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he long'd to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill.
