History & Politics
Oh! Breathe Not His Name
From Irish Melodies
Oh! breathe not his name, let it sleep in the shade,
Where cold and unhonored his relics are laid:
Sad, silent, and dark, be the tears that we shed,
As the night-dew that falls on the grass o'er his head.
But the night-dew that falls, tho' in silence it weeps,
Shall brighten with verdure the grave where he sleeps;
And the tear that we shed, tho' in secret it rolls,
Shall long keep his memory green in our souls.
Codex Note
Written for Robert Emmet, the executed leader of the 1803 Irish rebellion, whom Moore had known at Trinity College.
Cite this poem
MLA
Moore, Thomas. “Oh! Breathe Not His Name.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/moore/2/.
Chicago
Moore, Thomas. “Oh! Breathe Not His Name.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/moore/2/.
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