House of Night, The

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | 700+ words | Copyright

House of Night, The, poem by Freneau, published in 1779 and enlarged in his Poems (1786). It was suggested by the Scriptural aphorism, “the last enemy that shall be conquered is Death.”

Death, in his solitary palace at midnight, is represented as being on his deathbed. After composing his epitaph, which indicates that even Death has vanity, he makes a bargain with an avaricious undertaker, a reflection upon the inhumanity of man who will not perform a charitable act without certain reward. After the passing and funeral of Death, the poem concludes with reflections on the impropriety of too great attachment to the present life, and incentives to virtue that may conduct one to a better existence.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "House of Night, The." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "House of Night, The." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-HouseofNightThe.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "House of Night, The." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-HouseofNightThe.html

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