--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Britannia's shame! There took her gloomy…" description: "\"Britannia's shame! There took her gloomy flight, On wing impetuous, a black sullen soul . Less base the fear of death than fear of life. O Britain! inf..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/edward-young-1446_black_britannia-s-shame-there-took-her-gloomy_89010.png" --- # Britannia's shame! There took her gloomy flight, On wing… ![“Britannia's shame! There took her gloomy flight, On wing impetuous, a black sullen soul . Less base the fear of death than fear of life. O Britain! infamous for suicide.” quote by Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/edward-young-1446_black_britannia-s-shame-there-took-her-gloomy_89010.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/edward-young-1446_black_britannia-s-shame-there-took-her-gloomy_89010.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87c/edward-young-1446_black_britannia-s-shame-there-took-her-gloomy_89010.png) > “Britannia's shame! There took her gloomy flight, On wing impetuous, a black sullen soul . Less base the fear of death than fear of life. O Britain! infamous for suicide.” [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lament on Britain's moral decline, juxtaposing fear of death with a deeper dread of living, invoking tragic imagery to critique national shame. **In simple terms:** National moral crisis Key Takeaway Fear of life can outweigh fear of death Themes national identity morality existential dread tragic heroism political critique Mood somber reflective critical Type poem lament political commentary When to use this quote - political speech - literary essay - historical analysis - social commentary Key Concepts fear death suicide national shame Practical Applications - civic education - cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to fear life more than death? - How can literature influence national self‑reflection? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear of death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-of-death/) [Fear Of Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-of-life/) [Fears of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fears-of-life/) [Gloomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloomy/) [Impetuous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impetuous/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) ## Related quotes > [Some people never change, shame it took this long to realize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-never-change-shame-it-took-this-long-to-realize/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Less base the fear of death than fear of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/less-base-the-fear-of-death-than-fear-of-life/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Who forces himself on others is to himself a load. 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He suspects himself to be slighted, and thinks everything that is said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/a-vulgar-man-is-captious-and-jealous-eager-and-impetuous-about/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [For years I have endeavored to calm an impetuous tide -- laboring to make my feelings take an orderly course -- it was striving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/for-years-i-have-endeavored-to-calm-an-impetuous-tide-laboring-to/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/few-things-are-brought-to-a-successful-issue-by-impetuous-desire-but/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [Lennox Lewis, I'm coming for you man. My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/lennox-lewis-i-m-coming-for-you-man-my-style-is-impetuous-my-defense/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [My style was impetuous, my defenses were impregnable, and I was ferocious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/my-style-was-impetuous-my-defenses-were-impregnable-and-i-was/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The swelling and towering omnibuses, the huge trucks and wagons and carriages, the impetuous hansoms and the more sobered four-wheelers, the pony-carts, donkey-carts, hand-carts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dean-howells/the-swelling-and-towering-omnibuses-the-huge-trucks-and-wagons-and/) [William Dean Howells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dean-howells/) > [The legislative department is everywhere extending the sphere of its activity and drawing all power into its impetuous vortex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-legislative-department-is-everywhere-extending-the-sphere-of-its/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [True love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. 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White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [I want your heart, I want to eat your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-want-your-heart-i-want-to-eat-your-children/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [He knows enough, the mariner, who knows Where lurk the shelves, and where the whirlpools boil, What signs portend the storm: to subtler minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/he-knows-enough-the-mariner-who-knows-where-lurk-the-shelves-and/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [The aged love what is practical while impetuous youth longs only for what is dazzling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/the-aged-love-what-is-practical-while-impetuous-youth-longs-only-for/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [In the Tea Party era, it is the restless conservative Republican who has become passion's plaything, the toy of impetuous romance, an erotomania only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/in-the-tea-party-era-it-is-the-restless-conservative-republican-who/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) ## More by Edward Young > [Give me, indulgent gods with mind serene, And guiltless heart, to range the sylvan scene, No splendid poverty, no smiling care, No well-bred hate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/give-me-indulgent-gods-with-mind-serene-and-guiltless-heart-to-range/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [The spirit walks of every day deceased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/the-spirit-walks-of-every-day-deceased/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Tomorrow is a satire on today, And shows its weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/tomorrow-is-a-satire-on-today-and-shows-its-weakness/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [Be wise with speed; 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