History & Politics

Oh! Breathe Not His Name

by Thomas Moore 1779–1852

From Irish Melodies

History & PoliticsDeath & Dying

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.

✦ ✦ ✦

Written for Robert Emmet, the executed leader of the 1803 Irish rebellion, whom Moore had known at Trinity College.

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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