| O Death Rock Me Asleep | |
|---|---|
| by Anne Boleyn, or possibly George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford | |
| Original title | "O Death! rocke me asleep" |
| Written | 1536 |
| Country | England |
| Language | Early Modern English |
| Subject(s) | death |
| Meter | tetrameter or trimeter |
"O Death Rock Me Asleep" is a Tudor-era poem, traditionally attributed to Anne Boleyn. It was written shortly before her execution in 1536.
The poem is generally attributed to Anne Boleyn, [1] and is assumed to have been composed whilst she was imprisoned in the Tower of London. However, the evidence for Boleyn's authorship is not entirely conclusive. It has been postulated that the poem was actually written by Boleyn's brother Lord Rochford, [2] who was also imprisoned in the Tower at the same time as Anne, and whose execution took place two days before her own.
The poem was written in the last days of Anne's life and is a reflection on her suffering. In it, she observes that her end cannot be avoided, and that it will at least give her peace and an escape from her present sufferings.
The poem has a fairly loose structure, with most lines either being tetrameter or trimeter. At the end of each major stanza, there is a refrain, varying slightly, about the nearing of death and how it is inevitable.
| Original spelling | Modernised spelling |
|---|---|
O Death! rocke me asleep; | O death! rock me asleep, |
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