As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by so-called “famous last words,” but not the pronouncements made heading into battle or climbing the gallows steps. In those situations the speaker has prepared, is aware of what is likely to come, and has given their words some forethought as “famous last words.” Lines spoken at times like these are spoken for posterity, and are likely to contain not a small amount of “spin” for the history books.
No, the final utterances that intrigue me are those made suddenly, spontaneously, where the speaker may not be fully cognizant of her surroundings or the situation. At times these last words are puzzling, but while they are possibly no more than the product of a dying brain, they can be quite beautiful. In other cases, however, I believe we can glimpse the true nature of the speaker’s personality. Was she angry? Was he compassionate? Were the last words of love or of rebuke? Last words—when you don’t know they’re last words—can be the most meaningful, the most significant.
Here are four examples of last quotes; the first two are enigmatic, more evocative than illuminating, while the second two pretty much define the person who spoke them.
In May of 1863, General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson came under friendly fire from a regiment of his own men. Struck three times—in hand, arm, and shoulder. He lingered for a week, undergoing amputations and surgeries, before falling into a delirium. At the last, he gave orders as if he was still on the battlefield, then quieted, and said:
Let us cross over the river and rest in the shade of the trees.
In 1886, Emily Dickinson had been suffering from renal disease for two years and had been bedridden for much of that time. Her last letters were short but full of meaning, including her last, which merely said, “Called back,” a phrase that would be carved on her tombstone. Her last words, reportedly, were thoroughly enigmatic, but also thoroughly Dickinson.
I must go in, for the fog is rising.
In 2003, Bob Hope had his 100th birthday. His health had been poor for a few years, but he had already outlived his own obituary, which had been mistakenly released in 1998 by the New York Times and subsequently read aloud on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. This time, however, he wasn’t going to make it through. He and his family knew it. When his wife asked him where he wanted to be buried, he summed up his whole career in two words:
Surprise me.
Many of you are too young to remember the day, in 1968, when Robert F Kennedy, after winning the California presidential primary, was shot after addressing his supporters. He was shot three times with a .22-caliber revolver. Lying on the floor of the hotel kitchen, his last words revealed the bedrock of his life, his personality, and his philosophy:
Is everyone else all right?
I don’t know what my last words will be; I don’t know if I’ll even get any. Death, when he comes, doesn’t always call ahead. And to be honest, I can’t imagine my last words ever being “famous,” though I hope a few will be nearby to mark them.
k
There are some classic “last words” throughout history; even some who missed their chance and went out with a fizz, like Karl Marx (d.1883); when his housekeeper urged him to tell her his last words so that she could write them down for posterity, he said, “Go on, get out – last words are for fools who haven’t said enough.” In the end, everyone has last words, I guess… 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
There’s something wonderfully dark about aspiring to famous last words.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well put.
LikeLike