---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Forget the dead, the past? O yet there…"
description: "\"Forget the dead, the past? O yet there are ghosts that may take revenge for it, memories that make the heart a tomb, regrets which gild thro’ the spiri..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_forget_forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are_709673.jpg"
---

#  Forget the dead, the past? O yet there are ghosts that may…

![“Forget the dead, the past? O yet there are ghosts that may take revenge for it, memories that make the heart a tomb, regrets which gild thro’ the spirit’s gloom, and with ghastly whispers tell that joy, once lost, is pain.” quote by Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_forget_forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are_709673.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_forget_forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are_709673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_forget_forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are_709673.jpg)

> “Forget the dead, the past? O yet there are ghosts that may take revenge for it, memories that make the heart a tomb, regrets which gild thro’ the spirit’s gloom, and with ghastly whispers tell that joy, once lost, is pain.”

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Memories and regrets haunt us, turning lost joy into lingering pain.

**In simple terms:** Regrets turn joy into pain.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge past pain to heal.

Themes

loss memory regret psychology

Mood

somber introspective

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- Personal reflection
- therapy
- creative writing

Key Concepts

Grief emotional processing

Questions to Reflect On

- What memories still haunt you?
- How can you transform regret?

A Different Perspective

Pain may dominate if not addressed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts/) [Ghosts Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts-revenge-5600234/) [Gloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloom/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-ghosts-5600235/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) [Revenge Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge-memories-5600233/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tomb Regrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomb-regrets-5600236/)

## Related quotes

> [Not everybody believes in ghosts, but I do. Do you know what they are, Trisha? She had shaken her head slowly. Men and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/not-everybody-believes-in-ghosts-but-i-do-do-you-know-what-they-are/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [Spirit of BEAUTY, that dost consecrate With thine own hues all thou dost shine upon Of human thought or form, where art thou gone?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/spirit-of-beauty-that-dost-consecrate-with-thine-own-hues-all-thou/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [The everlasting universe of things Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves, Now dark--now glittering--now reflecting gloom-- Now lending splendour, where from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-everlasting-universe-of-things-flows-through-the-mind-and-rolls/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [“While yet a boy I sought for ghosts, and sped Through many a listening chamber, cave and ruin, And starlight wood, with fearful steps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/while-yet-a-boy-i-sought-for-ghosts-and-sped-through-many-a-listening/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Pain and pleasure, good and evil, come to us from unexpected sources. It is not there where we have gathered up our brightest hopes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/pain-and-pleasure-good-and-evil-come-to-us-from-unexpected-sources-it/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-a-last-violent-protest-against-the-hopelessness-of-imminent-death/)

[Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/)

> [After a day of rain the sun came out suddenly at five o'clock and threw a golden bar into the deep Victorian gloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/after-a-day-of-rain-the-sun-came-out-suddenly-at-five-o-clock-and/)

[Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/)

> [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [The little bee returns with evening's gloom, To join her comrades in the braided hive, Where, housed beside their might honey-comb, They dream their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tennyson-turner/the-little-bee-returns-with-evening-s-gloom-to-join-her-comrades-in/)

[Charles Tennyson Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tennyson-turner/)

> [“Ye men of gloom and austerity, who paint the face of Infinite Benevolence with an eternal frown; read in the Everlasting Book, wide open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doma-publishing-house/ye-men-of-gloom-and-austerity-who-paint-the-face-of-infinite/)

[Doma Publishing House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doma-publishing-house/)

> [When there's doom and gloom, don't forget there's darkness before dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-jhunjhunwala/when-there-s-doom-and-gloom-don-t-forget-there-s-darkness-before-dawn/)

[Rakesh Jhunjhunwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-jhunjhunwala/)

> [“Don’t you dare try to out-gloom me. I’m the only one here entitled to indulge in deep dark existential brooding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-r-green/don-t-you-dare-try-to-out-gloom-me-i-m-the-only-one-here-entitled-to/)

[Simon R. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-r-green/)

> [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/)

[Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/)

> [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Percy Bysshe Shelley

> [The everlasting universe of things Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves, Now dark--now glittering--now reflecting gloom-- Now lending splendour, where from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-everlasting-universe-of-things-flows-through-the-mind-and-rolls/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [The quick Dreams, The passion-winged Ministers of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-quick-dreams-the-passion-winged-ministers-of-thought/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/hail-to-thee-blithe-spirit/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [The jealous keys of truth's eternal doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-jealous-keys-of-truth-s-eternal-doors/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [“Though we eat little flesh and drink no wine, Yet let's be merry; we'll have tea and toast; Custards for supper, and an endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/though-we-eat-little-flesh-and-drink-no-wine-yet-let-s-be-merry-we-ll/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [A dream has power to poison sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/a-dream-has-power-to-poison-sleep/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Titles are tinsel, power a corrupter, glorya bubble, and excessive wealth a libel on its possessor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/titles-are-tinsel-power-a-corrupter-glorya-bubble-and-excessive/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [“I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life-i-bleed/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [“Poets and philosophers are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/poets-and-philosophers-are-the-unacknowledged-legislators-of-the-world/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Dar'st thou amid the varied multitude To live alone, an isolated thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/dar-st-thou-amid-the-varied-multitude-to-live-alone-an-isolated-thing/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Spirit of BEAUTY, that dost consecrate With thine own hues all thou dost shine upon Of human thought or form, where art thou gone?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/spirit-of-beauty-that-dost-consecrate-with-thine-own-hues-all-thou/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [I love tranquil solitude, And such society As is quiet, wise, and good; Between thee and me What difference? but thou dost possess The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-love-tranquil-solitude-and-such-society-as-is-quiet-wise-and-good/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [The practice of utter sincerity towards other men would avail to no good end, if they were incapable of practising it towards their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-practice-of-utter-sincerity-towards-other-men-would-avail-to-no/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Thou shoreless flood, which in thy ebb and flow claspest the limits of mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/thou-shoreless-flood-which-in-thy-ebb-and-flow-claspest-the-limits-of/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

> [Senseless is the breast and cold Which relenting love would fold; Bloodless are the veins and chill Which the pulse of pain did fill;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/senseless-is-the-breast-and-cold-which-relenting-love-would-fold/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

[Explore all 533 Percy Bysshe Shelley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

## More Forget quotes

> [I Never met her,i never talked to her,but in my whole day I am either thinking about her or trying to forget her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhananda/i-never-met-her-i-never-talked-to-her-but-in-my-whole-day-i-am-either/)

[Subhananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhananda/)

> [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. There were plenty of years where I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hamilton/what-people-tend-to-forget-is-the-journey-that-i-had-getting-to/)

[Lewis Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hamilton/)

> [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/)

[Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/)

> [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/)

[Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/)

> [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/)

[John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/)

> [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/)

[Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/)

> [The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/the-problem-with-people-is-they-forget-that-most-of-the-time-it-s-the/)

[Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/)

> [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/)

[Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/)

> [“So you try, and try, to move past it and forget about them, but it's like they're stuck in your head -- you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-mcdonald/so-you-try-and-try-to-move-past-it-and-forget-about-them-but-it-s/)

[Abby McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-mcdonald/)

> [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/)

[Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/)

> [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/)

[Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/)

> [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/)

[Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/)

> [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/)

[John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/)

[Browse all 11,315 Forget quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Forget the dead, the past? O yet there are ghosts that may take revenge for it, memories that make the heart a tomb, regrets which gild thro’ the spirit’s gloom, and with ghastly whispers tell that joy, once lost, is pain.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Percy Bysshe Shelley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are-ghosts-that-may-take-revenge/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Forget"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are-ghosts-that-may-take-revenge/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_forget_forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are_709673.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_forget_forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are_709673.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cda/percy-bysshe-shelley-476_forget_forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are_709673.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Forget the dead, the past? O yet there are ghosts that may take revenge for it, memories that make the heart…” — Percy Bysshe Shelley",
                "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": "Percy Bysshe Shelley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Forget the dead, the past? O...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are-ghosts-that-may-take-revenge/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/forget-the-dead-the-past-o-yet-there-are-ghosts-that-may-take-revenge/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
