With minds presumably buzzing with words and many brilliant books and poems to their credit, have you ever wondered what caused literary geniuses to say the very last words they ever spoke? Here’s a list of some of the most interesting last words said by famous authors and poets.
1. Robert Louis Stevenson
Last words — “Do I look strange?”
If only there had been a doctor present when these words were uttered, the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde writer might have still survived. Struggling to open a bottle of wine at just age 44 with his wife, he exclaimed, “What’s that? Do I look strange?”. These words were followed by a brain hemorrhage which killed him soon after.
2. Emily Dickinson
Last words — “I must go in; the fog is rising.”
Best known for her poem Because I could not stop for Death, Emily Dickinson is also remembered for her self-imposed social seclusion. Purportedly because it helped her get in touch with her core, she spent most of her time alone; yet she was well-versed with the work of her contemporaries. She had been bedridden for seven whole months before she died, and often spoke of death with a prophetic, mantric quality.
3. Virginia Woolf
Last words — “I don’t think two people could have been happier than we have been. V.”
