DEATH BE NOT PROUD

JOHN DONNE

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

John Donne

Born:1572London, England

Died: March 12 1631

Occupation: Poet

Nationality: English

Genres: Satire, Love poetry, Elegy

Subjects: Love, Sexuality, Religion, Death

Literary movement: Metaphysical Poetry

Influences: William Shakespeare

Influenced:W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden[1]

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Death be not proudJOHN DONNE

Death be not proud, though some have called 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.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.

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

THE FOLLOWING EXTRACT FROM THE SCRIPTURES:

"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 MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Structure of the poem Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet in structure In terms of ideas the poem is divided into three

quatrains and a couplet – Shakespearian. Poem consists of octave and sestet. Arrangement of sestet is unusual since it

consists of a quatrain and a couplet. The couplet is spoiled by impure rhyme:

eternally and die Rhyme scheme:

a b b a a b b a c d d c e eMADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Theme: Death is powerless – a

passing moment in time before man achieves eternal life.

Death is personified as a hateful person whom the poet dislikes.

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Death be not proud, though some have called thee

Line 1

The poet addresses

death directly

Death has nothing to boast / brag about

It is implied that only a small number of unknown people call death dreadful

It has happened in the past and will still happen in future.

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so,

Line 2

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For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,

Line 3

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

Line 4

Tone of contempt –

Sarcastic exclamation in a

Mock-sympathetic tone

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From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Line 5

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Much pleasure,

then from thee much more must flow,

Line 6

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Line 7

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Line 8

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,

Line 9

What causes death? People die because of sickness. Or maybe a murderer kills them. Or perhaps a tyrannical king decrees a death sentence. In all of these cases, Death has no option but to come along and claim the victim. Death therefore has no freedom. Death is simply a slave to things like Fate, etc.

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell.

Line 10

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And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well.

Line 11When a certain species of poppy seeds is crushed, it produces a paste called opium which, when heated, gives off a smoke that produces a wonderfully peaceful hallucinatory sleep.

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

Line 12

Why do you have such high opinion of yourself? (puffed up with pride)

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

Line 13

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Line 14

"You will go" means a wish or an intention, that you will go unless something stops you whereas "you shall go" is a command rather than a wish, meaning that nothing will get in the way of your going! "Death, thou shalt die" therefore is a command. Nothing will get in the way of Death's demise . Death will die and there is no further argument about it! There is no question about it!

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH

Tone:

Hostile Contemptuous

Mood: Mocking Challenging

MADE BY RONEL MYBURGH