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DEATH BE NOT PROUD
By John Donne
About the author
John Donne (22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a Catholic family, a remnant of the Catholic Revival, who reluctantly became a cleric in the Church of England.
John Donne (22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a Catholic family, a remnant of the Catholic Revival, who reluctantly became a cleric in the Church of England.
He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His poetical works are noted for their metaphorical and sensual style and include sonnets, love poems, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, and satires. He is also known for his sermons.
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| John Donne |
DEATH BE NOT
PROUD
John Donne (England)
Death be
not proud, though some have called thee
Might and
dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those
whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not,
poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest
and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much
pleasure- then from thee much more must flow;
And
soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of
their bones and soul’s delivery.
Thou art
slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men,
And dost
with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy
or charms can make us sleep as well,
And
better than thy stroke. Why swell’st thou then?
One short
sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death
shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
INTRODUCTION
This sonnet is about making death seem
not-so-scary. Death has got the real attitude problem in a sense that he thinks
he is the biggest, worst meanest dude in town. Everybody treats him like the
king of the underworld. They think he has the power to do the terrible things.
Donne and other metaphysical poets in general are masters of surprise ending
and this one is no exception. Donne says one day death shall take his own life.
In traditional Christian theology, it is thought that when people die it’s like
they are asleep until the end of the world or the judgement day. The poem like
most sonnets has centred on only one subject – death
THEMATIC
ANALYSIS
MORTALITY
/ DEATH
The poem takes an assertive (confident) stand
against mortality (death). It makes a paradoxical statement that mortality is
itself mortal - which is to say death can die. But the speaker wouldn’t make
this statement if he doesn’t fear that may be death is the end. He shows that
although people fear death terribly but in the long run death will be no more
and as a result there is no reason for fear.
He compares death with a ‘short sleep’ in which people sleep but there comes a day when they
will wake up and live eternally and death shall be the loser. He says;
One short
sleep past, we wake eternally
And death
shall be no more, Death thou shalt die.
DREAMS
AND HOPES
The big dream and hope in the poem is to defeat
death and go to heaven. The speaker is confident that his faith in God won’t
let him down. Nevertheless, that is a thing about faith it doesn’t always come
with a guarantee. However, the speaker shows that even himself, he has got no
much option. He must die no matter what. The difference it makes however is
that, when you die in God you will rise again and live eternally. This gives
him enough hopes to face death.
One short
sleep past, we wake eternally
COURAGE
The poem provides us with courage of confronting
death without fear. Throughout the entire poem, the speaker grows more
confident by showing that death is not the end of life. Although it claims
people’s lives now, a day is coming when death will take its own life. In such
a case, we certainly have nothing to fear.
He says;
Death be
not proud, though some have called thee
Might and
dreadful, for thou art not so.
RELIGION
AND FAITH
The poem seems to be centred on the subject of
religion. It is only in religious spheres people believe that after this life
there comes a better life when this mortal body shall put on immortality and
death shall be defeated forever.
Nonetheless, Donne puts a clear demarcation that
this grace of rising and living eternally is not just for everybody who simply
dies. He rather seems to be very meticulous by adopting a more specific
statement that only the good people (our
best men) are entitled to this privilege.
He says; And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of
their bones and soul’s delivery
THE
AFTERLIFE
The poet has the hopes of the afterlife. He even
shows that the afterlife is better than this life. For him death seems to be a
blessing because it is only through death that people are capable of enjoying
the afterlife.
Here says Donne;
From rest
and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much
pleasure - then from thee much more must flow,
GUIDING QUESTIONS
Ø
What type of the poem is this?
This poem is a sonnet because it is made
up of 14 lines (verses)
Ø
In what sense is the “sleep of death a short sleep” (line 13)?
Although the dead remain in their tombs
for hundreds and thousands of years, still Donne calls it a short sleep since the dead know
nothing. From the day they die they remain unconscious and remember nothing
until the day of resurrection. After death the next thing they will see is the
face of Jesus.
Ø
What is the tone and mood of the poem?
The tone is optimistic since the poet
hopes that after this life there is a better life. So the mood is also
optimistic.
Ø
Who is the persona? How do you know?
The persona is a religious person who has
hopes that his faith in God won’t let him down. He confronts death with
confidence. He says ..., nor yet canst thou kill me.
Ø
The poem has no clear/overt reference to
Christianity. Aside from the title how do you know that this is a religious
poem?
It is only in the religious context people
have the assurance of afterlife (life after death). It is the bible that
describes death as a short sleep and further states that death will one day be
no more in the new heaven and the new earth. (1Cor 15:26)
- Comment on the figures of speech;
v
Personification.
Death is addressed as though it is a person. “Death be not proud though some have called
thee mighty and dreadful” “Death, thou shalt die”
v
Symbolism
He has used common symbols in Christian theology “sleep and rest” to represent death.
“One
short sleep past, we wake eternally” (line 13)
v
Apostrophe -Addressing a thing/person in its/his absence.
The poet addresses death but death does not respond. E.g.
he says ‘poor death’ which is an
embarrassing way to talk to someone who considers himself tough.
v
Metaphor. The poet compares ‘rest and
sleep’ as the pictures of death. Also death is compared with a slave. Thou art slave to fate
v
Synecdoche.
This implies using part of something to represent the
whole.
In the poem he uses the “bones of the best men” to represent the whole physical body.
v
Rhetorical question. The speaker asks “why swell’st thou then?” it is just intended to make death realize
that he has no reasons to be proud, and not seeking for a response.
- Comment on the rhyming scheme.
Like most petrarchan sonnets, this sonnet
has 14 lines and a rhyme scheme that goes ABBA ABBA and the last six lines are
CDDC AA
RELEVANCE
Today in our society, there are these two basic
concepts about death. On one side there
are those who believe that death is the end of life and human history.
Therefore, when they come at the point of death they face it with fear. On the
other side there are those especially in religion realm who believe that death
is but another door to a better life. For them, death should not be proud
because they aspire for afterlife which is better than the life we live now.
They take death as a blessing and not as a doom.
EmoticonEmoticon