Poem Analysis 2: Death, be not proud by John Donne

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud

BY JOHN 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.

Wow, this was a super powerful and emotionally driven poem. From the very beginning until the very end of the poem, the speaker made it quite clear that Death would never conquer anyone or anything. Using a confident voice, the poem is filled with lines of hatred. The speaker starts out by threatening Death as if it were a real person and with real characteristics. The speaker goes on, telling Death to back off because he is not scary nor powerful towards anyone. This idea of overpowering death is very interesting; as to die is a natural human experience. The speaker doesn't want Death to exist so isn't that like wishing for it to die as well? Can a wish for death overpower death itself? Weird. Later in the poem, the speaker goes on by comparing Death to sleep, how it brings pleasure to people and not a powerful vibe.

One major in this poem is the idea of having the courage to take on an overpowering force. The speaker decides to try and fight with Death, he/she argues and threatens Death in so many ways. This brings up another theme of hopes and dreams. He/She wants to defeat Death to go to Heaven instead but later he/she understands that he will die anyways. It's really interesting how John Donne has the speaker start off in rage and defensive and leaves him feeling overpowered when he understands that he/she could never put up a fight against Death. Death will always conquer all.