11 Standout Epitaph Poems

Epitaph poems are short texts honoring the deceased, inscribed on their tombstones. These can be remembrances, commemorations, or even brief narratives about the deceased.

While they are by nature concise due to space limitations, epitaphs attempt to encapsulate a person’s life or virtues in a poignant manner. They can be solemn, humorous, reflective, or inspiring, serving both as a farewell to the departed and a reflection for the living.

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War Photograph

by Stephen Spender

Stephen Spender confronts the human cost of war, questions of legacy, and the importance of life in ‘War Photograph’.

In many ways, 'War Photograph' serves as an epitaph poem as it memorializes and mourns an unidentified soldier. Like many other poems of this genre, the speaker is the one being mourned themselves. Spender adopts the perspective of the real soldier photographed in 1936 by Robert Capa, becoming known as 'The Falling Soldier'. In this poem, he comes to terms with his own death and contemplates the meaning of his life. It serves to preserve the memory of a man who has been largely lost to time in his anonymity. While the speaker questions whether he will be remembered, he is already prolonging his memory.

Where the sun strikes the rock and

The rock plants its shadowed foot

And the breeze distracts the grass and the fern frond,

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Requiem

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Written when he was thirty years old, ‘Requiem’ is a poem wherein Robert Louis Stevenson writes his own epitaph. Often dogged by ill health, his own mortality often influenced his writing.

The last three lines of this poem are the poet's epitaph. The first part of the poem leads up to this, explaining how they view their life and their death so that when they get to their epitaph, the reader has the context to understand what they are trying to say and how they are presenting their views on life and death. The poem was used as Stevenson's real epitaph on his gravestone after his death.

Under the wide and starry sky,

Dig the grave and let me lie.

Glad did I live and gladly die,

And I laid me down with a will.

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Anne Rutledge

by Edgar Lee Masters

‘Anne Rutledge’ by Edgar Lee Masters is an epitaph based on the life of someone who knew and loved Abraham Lincoln in her youth.

This poem is a great example of an epitaph or a poem written in memory of someone who has died and is often read at a funeral.

Out of me unworthy and unknown

The vibrations of deathless music;

“With malice toward none, with charity for all.”

Out of me the forgiveness of millions toward millions,

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Epitaph

by Merrit Malloy

‘Epitaph’ by Merrit Malloy is a beautiful poem about the good that can come out of death. The speaker wants their memory used to make the world a better place.

This poem is an epitaph, a form meant to express someone’s final thoughts or wishes after they pass away. Through this genre, the poem gives the speaker a voice to share their desire for kindness, love, and remembrance. It serves as a farewell message, encouraging loved ones to honor the speaker’s memory by helping others. As an epitaph, it transforms loss into something positive, emphasizing a legacy of love and compassion.

When I die
Give what’s left of me away
To children
And old me that wait to die.

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Epitaph on a Tyrant

by W.H. Auden

‘Epitaph on a Tyrant’ by W.H. Auden is a thoughtful poem written at the beginning of WWII. The piece describes a tyrant’s beliefs and his power over everything around him.

This poem fits the epitaph genre because it reads like a final note about someone who has died. But rather than honoring the dead, it quietly reveals the damage that person caused while alive. Auden rethinks the traditional purpose of an epitaph and instead uses it to show how cruelty can outlive its speaker. Even in death, the tyrant’s memory is tied to fear. This approach gives the genre a darker, more critical use.

And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;

He knew human folly like the back of his hand,

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Afterglow

by Helen Lowrie Marshall

‘Afterglow’ by Helen Lowrie Marshall is a popular funeral poem. It describes a speaker’s hope that they’re remembered fondly and warmly.

This poem fits well as an epitaph, as it reflects the speaker’s hope to be remembered fondly after their passing. The simple, heartfelt lines feel like a personal farewell, inviting those left behind to think of happy memories. Instead of focusing on loss, the speaker’s words bring comfort by encouraging warm thoughts and laughter. This epitaph-like quality makes the poem feel like a peaceful message to loved ones.

I'd like the memory of me
To be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an afterglow
Of smiles when life is done.

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Fiddler Jones

by Edgar Lee Masters

Masters’ ‘Fiddler Jones’ highlights how following one’s passion, no matter what it is, is always worthwhile and helps lead a life without any regrets. As the title says, this poem is about a wayward fiddler devoted to his passion.

His poem is written from the perspective of Fiddler Jones reflecting on his life after death, sharing his experiences and values. The poem captures the essence of Jones’s life, emphasizing his love for music and his contentment. As an epitaph, it highlights the themes of reflection and the impact of one’s life choices on their sense of fulfillment.

Where is Old Fiddler Jones

Who played with life all his ninety years,

Braving the sleet with bared breast,

Drinking, rioting, thinking neither of wife nor kin,

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In Honour of that High and Mighty Princess, Queen Elizabeth

by Anne Bradstreet

Written forty years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne Bradstreet’s ode to the Queen is filled with praise and gushing appreciation for the near-legendary ruler as her achievements are considered, as well as the love that her people had for her.

The final part of this poem features two epitaphs to the queen. They are written as though they were going to be placed on her grave, and the author is imagining the way that they would give honor to her if they had the opportunity to do so. These epitaphs are a good example of this style of writing, even though the rest of the poem is in a different style.

Although great Queen, thou now in silence lie,

Yet thy loud Herald Fame, doth to the sky

Thy wondrous worth proclaim, in every clime,

And so has vow’d, whilst there is world or time.

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How Did You Die?

by Edmund Vance Cooke

‘How Did You Die?’ by Edmund Vance Cooke is a rhyming poem that tries to impart an idealized view of perseverance in life.

In a lot of ways the poem can be read as a kind of ambiguous elegy. As it makes an attempt to answer questions about how a person lived and died.

Did you tackle that trouble that came your way

With a resolute heart and cheerful?

Or hide your face from the light of day

With a craven soul and fearful?

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Teeth

by Jackie Kay

‘Teeth’ by Jackie Kay explores the dehumanization and lasting trauma caused by Joy Gardner’s death, told through her mother’s grief and her child’s trauma.

In some ways, this poem could be seen as an epitaph, as it discusses the dead woman. The mother is giving praise to her character in the way that she speaks about her teeth, but the majority of the poem is more concerned with the events that led to her death.

This is X who has all her own teeth.
Her mother is horrified by this.

Look into her mouth. She still has them.
Perfect pearls. Milk stones. Pure ivory.

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XII: An Epitaph

by A. E. Housman

In Housman’s ‘XII: An Epitaph,’ readers will hear from a speaker who knows he’s about to die and is happy to accept his fate.

Stay, if you list, O passer by the way;

Yet night approaches; better not to stay.

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11 Standout Epitaph Poems

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11 Standout Epitaph Poems

by Stephen Spender

by Robert Louis Stevenson

by Edgar Lee Masters

by Merrit Malloy

by W.H. Auden

by Helen Lowrie Marshall

by Edgar Lee Masters

by Anne Bradstreet

by Edmund Vance Cooke

by Jackie Kay

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