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"Death be not proud" is part of a collection called "The Holy Sonnets". John
Donne, an Anglican priest and a very religious man, looks at the theme of death, something that
scares most people. He points out that one should not in fact be afraid of death at all because
it is simply the gateway to another happier, eternal life.
The poet in fact personifies death, speaking directly to it as if it were a person. He accuses
Death of having absolutely nothing to boast about because, in the end, Death has no power
whatever.
A NOTE ON THIS SONNET
"Death be not proud" is based upon the following extract from the New Testament:
"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -- in a flash,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet . . . then the saying that is written will come true:
'Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death,
is your sting?' The sting of Death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God!
He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)
It is an Elizabethan sonnet, having 14 lines, divided into three quatrains and a rhyming couplet.
The quatrains deal with the chief theme of the sonnet, and the rhyming couplet concludes the
argument.
Each line of the sonnet has 10 syllables of iambic pentameters -- i.e. there are five feet (called
pentameters) and each foot contains a short syllable followed by a long one (iambic).
The rhyming scheme in this sonnet is a simple one:
abba, abba, cddc, ee
Note: The rhyming couplet at the end is usually a sign that one is looking at an Elizabethan
sonnet.
Have you looked at the questions in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer the following questions:
"Death, be not proud, though some have calléd thee
Mighty 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."
- "Death" is consistently spelled with an upper-case "D". Why does the poet
do so? (4)
[Need help?]
John Donne is following the example of the great New Testament scholar, Paul, who did exactly
the same thing in his letter to the Christians at Corinth, upon which text the poet is basing his
sonnet. Paul chose to present Death as a person because it is much easier to make fun of a
person than it is to humiliate an abstract concept. John Donne too makes Death appear as a
person who can then be ridiculed.
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- What is this language device called? (1)
[Need help?]
It is an example of personification. Personification , like a metaphor, is a comparison between
two things but one in which an inanimate thing or an animal is given the characteristics of a
person. In this case Death -- which is a philosophical idea -- is said to be a person.
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- In what way does the poet see Death in a different light to other people? (2)
[Need help?]
The poet says that "some" have called Death "mighty and dreadful", i.e. they fear
death and believe that death holds a dreadful power over them. Not so, says the poet. We
don't actually die at all but rather we fall asleep and awaken in another, very much more
pleasurable after-life. Death is therefore in no way to be feared.
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"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."
- Rewrite the following so that the meaning is made clear: "From rest and sleep, which
but thy pictures be | Much pleasure -- then, from thee, much more must
flow." (4)
[Need help?]
What about: "Rest and sleep are simply pictures of death. Since we get a great deal of
pleasure from rest and sleep, it is logical therefore that we will get even more pleasure from
death."
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- What does the poet mean when he says, "Rest of their bones and soul's
delivery"? (4)
[Need help?]
What about: "Their bodies (bones) will find eternal rest, while their souls will be delivered
from sin and will pass on to heaven, -- or their souls will find eternal happiness in heaven."
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"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?"
- In this quatrain, the poet pours scorn on Death. How does he do so? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet says that Death is nothing more than a slave -- but a slave is a creature who has
absolutely no honour and no value. Indeed, a slave has always been regarded as the lowest
of all creatures.
Why is Death a slave? Well, when a person dies by accident, Death has no choice but to be
there. When a king orders someone's execution, Death again has no choice but to be there.
And when a murderer decides to kill someone, once more Death has no choice but to be there.
Death is therefore nothing but a slave to Chance, Kings and Murderers!
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"One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more. Death, thou shalt die."
- The poet presents an apparent contradiction in this rhyming couplet. Explain this
contradiction in your own words. (4)
[Need help?]
The poet says that Death shall die -- but how can Death die? Yet it is quite possible because,
says the poet, eventually everybody reaches eternal life and, once that happens, there will be
no more death. Death will be no more. Death will therefore die!
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- What does one call such an apparent contradiction? (2)
[Need help?]
An apparent contradiction is known as a "paradox".
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