blaze of glory

plural blazes of glory

1. An impressive but brief display of strength before expiring, in the way that a fire burns more brightly shortly before burning out.

   1718, Alexander Pope, trans., Homer, The Iliad, Book XVII, line 240. A blaze of glory ere thou fad'st away.

   1 more example

   Jon has taken an "all or nothing approach," and he wants to go down in a blaze of glory. […] The issue has become an ego thing: a conflict of Jon Parker versus the rest of the world.

   1991 February 4, Elizabeth Yukins, quoting Will Murphy, “Needle Exchange Heatedly Debated In Boston”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 28, page 3

2. A sight, usually associated with a deity, that is forbidden or that is too glorious to behold.

   Thy throne is darkness in the abyss of light,/A blaze of glory that forbids the sight.

   1686, John Dryden, The Hind and the Panther