--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O starry night, This is how I want to die" description: "\"O starry night, This is how I want to die\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac1/anne-sexton-645_dying_o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die_1705681.png" --- # O starry night, This is how I want to die ![“O starry night, This is how I want to die” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac1/anne-sexton-645_dying_o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die_1705681.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac1/anne-sexton-645_dying_o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die_1705681.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac1/anne-sexton-645_dying_o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die_1705681.png) > “O starry night, This is how I want to die” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A yearning for a poetic, perhaps tragic, end under a beautiful night sky. **In simple terms:** Desire a beautiful death. Key Takeaway Embrace mortality with beauty. Themes death beauty loneliness Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic literary When to use this quote - End‑of‑life planning - artistic expression - nighttime reflection Key Concepts romanticism existentialism nature symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does the night symbolize for you? - How do you find beauty in endings? A Different Perspective May romanticize death. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [I want to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-want-to-die/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Night Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-want-405014/) [Starry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starry/) [Starry night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starry-night/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-die/) [Wanting to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-to-die/) ## Related quotes > [The town is silent. The night boils with eleven stars. Oh starry starry night! This is how I want to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-town-is-silent-the-night-boils-with-eleven-stars-oh-starry-starry/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to die young. I think it's awful to get old, and sickness is ugly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-piaf/i-want-to-die-young-i-think-it-s-awful-to-get-old-and-sickness-is-ugly/) [Edith Piaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-piaf/) > [I want to die consciously, without fear, and without anger. Three things. I see my friends dying with fear and anger and it's terrible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-want-to-die-consciously-without-fear-and-without-anger-three-things/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [I don't belong. Not here. Not now. I have to get back there. The bet was rigged, he made me believe. Now there's darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-mcfarlane/i-don-t-belong-not-here-not-now-i-have-to-get-back-there-the-bet-was/) [Todd McFarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-mcfarlane/) > [I want to die in the saddle. I love writing, producing, acting, directing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-fonda/i-want-to-die-in-the-saddle-i-love-writing-producing-acting-directing/) [Peter Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-fonda/) > [This is the way I want to die. Torn apart by angry fans who want me to play a different song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-spektor/this-is-the-way-i-want-to-die-torn-apart-by-angry-fans-who-want-me-to/) [Regina Spektor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-spektor/) > [I want to die while you love me, While yet you hold me fair, While laughter lies upon my lips, And lights are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-douglas-johnson/i-want-to-die-while-you-love-me-while-yet-you-hold-me-fair-while/) [Georgia Douglas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-douglas-johnson/) > [God, I want to die in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-evans/god-i-want-to-die-in-you/) [Katy Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-evans/) > [I want to die young at a ripe old age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/i-want-to-die-young-at-a-ripe-old-age/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/when-i-die-i-want-to-die-like-my-grandfather-who-died-peacefully-in/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [My feeling is, personally, I want to die first... because I believe that when you die, your soul goes immediately up for judgment -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/my-feeling-is-personally-i-want-to-die-first-because-i-believe-that/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [To hell with reality! I want to die in music, not in reason or in prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/to-hell-with-reality-i-want-to-die-in-music-not-in-reason-or-in-prose/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Yes -- or rather, it's not so much that I want to die as that I'm tired of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ry-nosuke-akutagawa/yes-or-rather-it-s-not-so-much-that-i-want-to-die-as-that-i-m-tired/) [Ryūnosuke Akutagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ry-nosuke-akutagawa/) > [I want to live but I want to die. What do I do?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/i-want-to-live-but-i-want-to-die-what-do-i-do/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. I shake my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-don-t-know-how-to-say-it-exactly-only-i-want-to-die-as-myself-does/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) ## More by Anne Sexton > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [And what of the dead? They lie without shoes in the stone boats. They are more like stone than the sea would be if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-what-of-the-dead-they-lie-without-shoes-in-the-stone-boats-they/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-witch-s-life-when-i-was-a-child-there-was-an-old-woman-in-our/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“From the Garden” Come, my beloved, consider the lilies. We are of little faith. We talk too much. Put your mouthful of words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/from-the-garden-come-my-beloved-consider-the-lilies-we-are-of-little/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Oh thumb, I want a drink it is dark, where are the big people, when will I get there...?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/oh-thumb-i-want-a-drink-it-is-dark-where-are-the-big-people-when-will/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to kiss God on His nose and watch Him sneeze and so do you. Not out of disrespect. Out of pique. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Dying quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Just living my life till I die...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-mixer/just-living-my-life-till-i-die/) [Willie Mixer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-mixer/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [I don't want to just die a normal death, I wanna be killed twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-don-t-want-to-just-die-a-normal-death-i-wanna-be-killed-twice/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/poor-david-hume-is-dying-fast-but-with-more-real-cheerfulness-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Got to say, dying would really wreck my best day. Been there, done that, and now that I think about it, Artemis forgot to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/got-to-say-dying-would-really-wreck-my-best-day-been-there-done-that/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“There is more to living than not dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-is-more-to-living-than-not-dying/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I want people to think they can't die until they see me play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-williams/i-want-people-to-think-they-can-t-die-until-they-see-me-play/) [Ricky Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-williams/) > [... there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/there-are-far-far-worse-things-in-the-living-world-than-dying/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [Life has no guarantees, though. What good is living if all you think about is dying?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-garvis-graves/life-has-no-guarantees-though-what-good-is-living-if-all-you-think/) [Tracey Garvis-Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-garvis-graves/) > [“And if you can’t say yes, answer anyway. Because I’d rather live with the answer than die with the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ellis/and-if-you-can-t-say-yes-answer-anyway-because-i-d-rather-live-with/) [Jon Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ellis/) > [If you feel like you want to die, it's time to sit down and make a list of all the things you haven't done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deacon-jones/if-you-feel-like-you-want-to-die-it-s-time-to-sit-down-and-make-a/) [Deacon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deacon-jones/) > [Lord, send Your life throughout the entire church. Visit Your church; restore sound doctrine and holy, earnest living. Take away from professing Christians their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/lord-send-your-life-throughout-the-entire-church-visit-your-church/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) [Browse all 6,374 Dying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "O starry night, This is how I want to die", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Sexton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dying" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac1/anne-sexton-645_dying_o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die_1705681.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac1/anne-sexton-645_dying_o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die_1705681.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac1/anne-sexton-645_dying_o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die_1705681.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“O starry night, This is how I want to die” — Anne Sexton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anne Sexton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "O starry night, This is how...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/o-starry-night-this-is-how-i-want-to-die/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```