James Shirley (Poet) 詹姆斯。雪莉（诗人）

Amongst the poems written by James Shirley is the famous “Death the Leveller” first introduced in this website in March 2017. Read the poem again below.

The glories of our blood and state 
Are shadows, not substantial things; 
There is no armour against Fate; 
Death lays his icy hand on kings: 
Sceptre and Crown 
Must tumble down, 
And in the dust be equal made 
With the poor crookèd scythe and spade. 

Some men with swords may 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. 

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. 
Your heads must come 
To the cold tomb: 
Only the actions of the just 
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

Click the link below to read the earlier version on this topic: http://www.u-write-read.com/2017/03/13/death-the-leveller-死亡是平准的-：mate-te-leveller/

Death has been personified to have icy hands and the hands can be laid on kings as well as on paupers. All past glories and all mighty deeds that we do during our lifetimes cannot prevent us from the “icy hands” of Death. Regardless of how wealthy we are, how noble we are, how poor we are, we have one day to face Death.

Some quotes worthy of committing to memory include:

(1) “Sceptre and crown, must tumble down; And in the dust be equal made - with the crooked scythe and spade.”

(2) “Early or late, they stoop the Fate; And must give up their murmuring breath - when they, too, poor captives, creep to death.”

(3) “The garlands (of past glories) withered on your brow, then boost no more your mighty deeds! Upon death’s purple altar now, see where the victor-victim bleeds.”

(4) “Only the actions of the just, smell sweet and blossom in their dust.”

From another website that provides revision notes to students, I picked up the following words and I use these words to design a Word Code puzzle and a Crossword puzzle, both with the same answer.

The words chosen are: (1) achievements; (2) significance; (3) characteristics; (4) inevitable; (5) naif; (6) ablism; (7) pauper; (8) regardless; (9) personified; (10) metaphor; (11) futile; and (12) cultures.

The Word Code puzzle is shown below. The clues are the twelve words given above all interlinked together with other supporting words from everyday usage.

The crossword grid with the clues are shown below:

CLUES: Words ACROSS:

1. Instruments with sharp sets of blades, used to remove unwanted hair from the face or body. (6)

3. Social prejudice against people with disabilities. (6)  11. Features. (15)

12. A mischievous trouble maker. (3) 13. Express disgust at. (7)

14. A naive and inexperienced person. (4) 16. An edge; A border. (5)

17. Untidy and shabby looking. (7) 18. A past currency in Peru. (4)

19. Draw milk of a cow by hand. (5) 20. Unavoidable. (10)

21. A knitting item. (6) 27. Small military unit. (5)

28. Ideas, customs, and social behaviours of various human societies. (8)

32. People who do not believe in the existence of God. (8).

33. A colour mixture of red and green. (6)

CLUES: Words DOWN:

4. Fortunately. (9) (5). Breakfast mix of cereals. (6)

6. Symbolic figure of speech, like ‘Life is a beach’. (8)

7. Humanised. (11) 8. A great deed accomplished. (12)

9. A beggar. (6) 10. The quality of being worthy of attention. (12)

15. Useless. (6) 22. Feeling triumphant, elation or jubilation. (5)

23. Holiday accommodation. (5) (24) A Bible Chapter following the Gospels. (4)

25. Verdict giving panel. (4) 26. Look from a vantage point. (4)

29. __________ Vegas. (3) 31. Negative answer. (2)

The answers to both the two puzzles given above are the same and given below: