The knell, the shroud, the mattock, and the grave,

The deep damp vault, the darkness and the worm.

Edward Young (1684-1765): Night Thoughts. Night iv. Line 10.

Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault,

The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771): Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 10.

Heaven's ebon vault

Studded with stars unutterably bright,

Through which the moon's unclouded grandeur rolls,

Seems like a canopy which love has spread

To curtain her sleeping world.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822): Queen Mab. iv.

Her beauty makes

This vault a feasting presence full of light.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Romeo and Juliet, Act v. Sc. 3.

The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees

Is left this vault to brag of.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Macbeth. Act ii. Sc. 3.