Stanza-wise Summary 

of Death the Leveller

The poem consists of 3 stanzas. Each of these stanzas is again made up of 8 lines. Hence, the entire poem consists
of 24 lines in total.
1st stanza:
“The glories of our birth and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against fate:
Death lays his icy hands on kings;
Sceptre and crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.”
In this stanza, the poet says that all the great achievements of people in our families or our communities will not
matter in the end. There is nothing anyone can do to avoid the calling of Fate because man is destined to die. Death
comes to kings as well as farmers. That is why, where they are buried, the vestments and weapons of the king are
not superior in any way to farm implements.
2nd stanza:
“Some men with swords reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill;
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still:
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath,
When they, pale captives, creep to death.”
In this stanza, the poet says that men with swords often win battles, and get both fame and glory because of that.
However, in the end, their courage is nothing in the face of Fate. All warriors are overpowered by death and must
surrender in defeat at some point of time. They may put up a fight, but in the end they will lose their vigour and move
slowly towards the end of their lives.
3rd stanza:
“The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds;
Upon death’s purple altar now,
See where the victor victim bleeds:
All heads must come
To the cold tomb,
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in the dust.”
In this stanza, the poet says that no matter what great deeds man does, his prizes and achievements will not last.
One who has been a victor will also turn into a victim in their fight with Death. Ultimately, they must sacrifice
themselves to this most powerful of deities in his own altar. In the end, they shall be buried under the earth. However,
man may die but his actions won’t. If one has been just and fair in one’s life, then one’s actions can never be buried.
Critical Analysis of Death the Leveller:
The title of “Death the Leveller” tells us what the poem is about even before we have read the poem. The poet here
says that all men are made equal in death, and also that death is an absolute certainty for all men. Poor men die
easily because they do not have too many resources. They may die of hunger. They may die because they cannot
afford treatment for diseases. Rich men do not have such worries. And yet rich men must also die. If not for anything
else, they will certainly die of old age. Hence, death is not something that either rich or poor people can escape. Even
great warriors must bow down before Fate because man is destined to die. These are the men who kill others in the
battlefield and believe it is glorious to do so. But there is no shortage of valiant fighters. One day the same men who
had killed hundreds must themselves die. That is why it is said that to be born is to die. However, what we must keep
in mind is that only the physical body of man is destroyed in death. Man’s great deeds live on. If he has been just
towards his fellow men, then his deeds will be remembered for centuries after his death. Generations of his offspring
will read about him in history books. Man’s great deeds will blossom like a fragrant flower from the dust where the
human body is buried, and these deeds will continue to inspire others who come to inhabit this world after we are
long gone.
Poetic Devices in Death the Leveller:
Rhyme scheme:
Each of the three stanzas in “Death the Leveller” follows the same rhyme scheme – ABABCCDD.
1st stanza:
Metaphor:
This rhetorical device is used when a covert comparison is made between two different things or ideas. In this stanza,
the poet uses the device of metaphor in lines 1-2 when he compares all the glorious events in man’s life with
shadows, since both of these do not have any material presence or value in the greater scheme of things.
Personification:
This rhetorical device is used to bestow human qualities on something that is not human. In this stanza, the poet uses
the device of personification in line 3 with respect to Fate, and again in line 4 with respect to Death. Both fate and
Death are visible figures in the poet’s imagination.
Transferred epithet:
This rhetorical device is used when an emotion is attributed to a non-living thing after being displaced from a person,
most often the poet himself or herself. In this stanza, the poet uses the device of transferred epithet in line 8 when he
calls the scythe and the spade “poor”. Of course, it is not that they are actually financially unstable, but that the
people who hold them cannot afford anything better.
2nd stanza:
Metonymy:
This rhetorical device consists of the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant. In
this stanza, the poet uses the device of metonymy in line 1 when he uses the word “field” to mean wars which are
fought on battlefields.
Metaphor:
In this stanza, the poet uses the device of metaphor in line 2 when he compares getting fame and glory with planting
laurels.
Central Idea of Death the Leveller:
Men who are distinguished by class in life, are rendered equal in death. Neither king nor farmer can escape the
inevitability of death. Victors in battle must also lose to Death. The only aspect of human life that survives is his noble
deeds. These will live on despite man’s eventual demise.
Themes of Death the Leveller:
Dust thou art, to dust returnest:  The Bible says that man has evolved out of the stuff of the earth, out of dust as it
were. And ultimately, man must return to dust as well. That is, man must be buried in the very earth that gave birth to
him. Shirley does not use these very words in “Death the Leveller”. However, this phrase of the Bible could not have
escaped his mind when he says in the last stanza when he says that all men’s heads must touch the cold tomb at
some point of time or the other.
The route to immortality: The point that Shirley stresses again and again in this poem is that man is mortal. Neither
will individual men survive nor will the human as a species. Is man then to not leave any trace of his existence on
earth? He certainly is. This trace left by man will be in the form of his great deeds. Man’s noble deeds are the only
way in which he will remain immortal.
The tone of Death the Leveller:
The overarching tone of “Death the Leveller” is one of fatalism as the poet stresses the inevitability of death.
However, there is a sense of poetic justice at the end of the first stanza when the poet shows how kings are farmers
are made equal in death. In the second stanza, the tone subtly changes from one of valiant victory in the battle to that
of piteous surrender to Death. Only in the last two lines of the poem is there a tone of hope and optimism when the
poet asserts that man’s good deeds will never die.
Conclusion:
“Death the Leveller” is a poem that has successfully stood the test of time. Written in Elizabethan times, it appeals
just as much to modern and contemporary readers. That is because it does not offer us false optimism. It does not
assert the greatness of man. Instead, it gives us a realistic picture of life and death, and only towards the end does it
appeal to our emotional nature. It captures the dilemma of human existence beautifully in fact.