Last words

For other uses, see Last words (disambiguation).

Last words or final words are a person's final articulated words said prior to death or as death approaches.

Quotations of last words may not be the words spoken immediately before death, as these tend to reflect the mode of death.^{[citation needed]} Last words may not be written down and accurately recorded, and they may not be quoted accurately for a variety of reasons.

It is estimated that around 17% of people have given thought to what their last words would be if they knew they were dying.^{[citation needed]}

Famous last words include both the literal sense such as the sayings of Jesus on the cross, "Et tu, Brute?" from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, and Oscar Wilde's "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go", and the ironical sense of words said before a disaster, such as:

• "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance", General John Sedgwick at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
• "Don't worry, guys. It isn't even loaded. See?", Terry Kath of Chicago

The last words reported to have been uttered by a person revered as a martyr or hero of a religious, nationalist or revolutionary movement often gain a political significance and are extensively quoted in later literature and/or used as a slogan. However, in many such cases their historical authenticity is doubted.

Last words may be deliberately misquoted in official records, or family members may enhance or create last words in order to further the reputation of the deceased. For example, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's last words were probably "Drink, drink. Fan, fan. Rub, rub",^{[citation needed]} but he is remembered for his earlier words "Kiss me Hardy", when mortally wounded; George V's last words were reputedly "Bugger Bognor", but official records reported that he was inquiring about the British Empire.^{[citation needed]}

In Jewish tradition, a person should strive to have as his or her last words be the Shema Yisrael (basic credo of Judaism).^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Final statement, or gallows speech, often afforded to a prisoner about to be executed
• Death poem

External links

• 20 Badass Famous Last Words by Pop Crunch
• Lastword.at