The poem "Death the Leveller" contains a line at the end
of the poem which states:
Upon Death's purple alter
now.
The reference to the
color purple is very important in this line given the meaning behind the use of the
color. The color purple can represent many different things. First, it is made from
combining the colors red (the warmest color) and blue (the coolest color). This makes
purple a color which holds balance.
The color purple is
also a color typically used in religious ceremonies given its historical use in being
worn by both royalty and is used as the color most representative by the Catholic Church
during Advent. Purple is also the color used in
funerals.
Given that the poem has a religious undertone, as
denoted by the term 'alter', the use of the color purple makes
sense.
As for the meaning of the line "Upon Death's purple
alter now", the line refers to the fact that no one can escape Death. Death, in this
case, is personified. What this means is that death is given a proper name (Death-
denoted by the capitalization) and, therefore, is able to function in the same way that
man can (Death can "lay his icy hand on
kings").
Simplistically, what is being said is that all men
will come to lie on Death's alter- a place where all who die must
come.
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