A. R. D. Fairburn's "Rhyme of the Dead Self" is a darkly comical tale of disillusionment. Fed up with his younger self's dreamy, romantic view of the world (which has only led to heartbreak), the speaker decides to throttle that poetic "lily-white lad" and be done with it. But even as the speaker triumphs over his former self's corpse, the poem suggests that there's something tragic in leaving one's youthful idealism behind. Fairburn first published this poem in his 1930 collection He Shall Not Rise.

• Read the full text of “Rhyme of the Dead Self”

• “Rhyme of the Dead Self” Summary

• “Rhyme of the Dead Self” Themes

  • 

    Youthful Idealism vs. Cynical Disillusionment

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-12

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Rhyme of the Dead Self”

  • Lines 1-4

    Tonight I have ...
    ... in his bed.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-8

    Then chuckling I ...
    ... what ruinous folly.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-12

    He is dead ...
    ... again for aye.

    

    

    

    

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• “Rhyme of the Dead Self” Symbols

  • 

    Murdering the Pale Youth

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-8

• “Rhyme of the Dead Self” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “that pale lily-white lad”
    • Line 6: “heighho the holly”
    • Line 7: “emptied them holus bolus to the drains”
    • Lines 9-10: “he shall not rise / on the third day or any other day”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “these my hands these claws”

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • Line 11: “sloughed like a snakeskin there he lies”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “strangled him,” “pale lily-white lad”
    • Line 3: “choked him,” “these my hands these claws”
    • Line 4: “dreaming”
    • Line 5: “foolish”
    • Line 6: “pretty love-tales”
    • Line 8: “dreams of love,” “folly”
    • Line 9: “pale youth,” “and he shall not rise”
    • Line 10: “day,” “day”
    • Line 12: “and he shall not trouble me”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Tonight,” “taken”
    • Line 2: “lily,” “lad”
    • Line 3: “claws”
    • Line 4: “catching”
    • Line 5: “dragged”
    • Line 6: “heighho,” “holly”
    • Line 7: “holus,” “drains”
    • Line 8: “dreams”
    • Line 9: “dead”
    • Line 10: “day”
    • Line 11: “sloughed,” “like,” “snakeskin,” “lies”

• “Rhyme of the Dead Self” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Holus bolus
  • Ruinous folly
  • Sloughed
  • For aye
  • (Location in poem: Line 7: “emptied them holus bolus to the drains”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Rhyme of the Dead Self”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Rhyme of the Dead Self” Speaker

• “Rhyme of the Dead Self” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Rhyme of the Dead Self”

• More “Rhyme of the Dead Self” Resources

  • External Resources

    • An Interview with Fairburn's Daughters — Listen to an interview in which Fairburn's daughters discuss his legacy.

    • Fairburn's Poetic Career — Read about Fairburn's development as an artist.

    • More Fairburn Resources — Read more of Fairburn's poetry and learn about his other artistic pursuits via the New Zealand Electronic Poetry Center.

    • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Fairburn's life and work.

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