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8.9
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Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
John Donne
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Comments about this poem (Death Be Not Proud
by
John Donne
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John Donne
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Andrew Hoellering
(10/16/2009 3:20:00 AM) |
'Death thou shalt die' is superb affrontery in the face of a force that men fear as all-conquering.Donne may well be assuaging his own fears, but what he produces by way of reassurance is an immortal poem.
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Andrew Hoellering
(10/16/2009 3:19:00 AM) |
'Death thou shalt die' is superb affrontery in the face of a force that men fear as all-conquering.Donne may well be assuaging his own fears, but what he produces by way of reassurance is an immortal poem.
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Sangnam Nam
(5/26/2009 8:03:00 PM) |
Death, you have found somebody dead and long gone
back here sound and high-spirited.
Lisa Nam is Sangnam Nam is Nam.
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Michael Harmon
(4/21/2009 7:40:00 PM) |
www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/oliver.htm
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Michael Harmon
(4/21/2009 7:33:00 PM) |
british-poetry.suite101.com/article.cfm/death_be_not_proud_by_john_donne
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Daniel Partlow
(4/21/2009 6:39:00 PM) |
If you like this poem, you will like 'Caligula, Death is Dead': http: //www.poemhunter.com/poem/caligula-death-is-dead/
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Michael Pruchnicki
(4/21/2009 6:05:00 PM) |
Be not proud, Wilkes and Harmon, in your mighty dreadful expositions of Donne's metaphysical poem! You and your fellows have no clue as to the intent or the meaning of the poem. Sit down and read the poem line by line slowly and carefully with a dictionary and an old worn copy of a text in prosody, putting aside the smart ass comments and know-it-all attitude of a modern reader who knows nothing about the devices of poetry! Donne does not address the theme of death in this poem, he personifies Death in his apostrophe and puts a case for his belief that in the end, Death is powerless, a nothing in the grand scheme of things. A theme and a personification are NOT the same thing, lads! Of course, we all must die, but Donne asserts that the best among us go willingly to the end, and no matter the circumstances Death is as much a victim as we are!
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Aden Wilkes
(4/21/2009 1:56:00 PM) |
Run until you fall off the edge of the world
Jump past the stars and the moon
do not worry
tis never over
and you shall be with god soon.
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Michael Harmon
(4/21/2009 12:16:00 PM) |
I'm a big fan of Donne's poetry.
However, why would he think that death was proud? How would he know?
Perhaps death is very humble. This is, of course, Donne's take on death in this particular poem. So, it's his privilege to believe this. This belief is, after all, the premise for his poem. No premise, no poem.
All poets address, at some point or other, the theme of death.
Thomas: 'Death shall have no dominion'
Paraphrasing William Empson (I believe) : death is a subject we should be silent about.
I'm not sure who (it may also be Empson) , but someone said something like-'Death is the trigger to the literary man's biggest gun.'
Implying his view of death, Jung said that life 'is a luminous pause between two great mysteries which yet are one.' There is a case to be made that what happens after life is what happened before.
Beautifully done as this sonnet is, I must admit I am in the camp with those who think Donne, in this poem, was attempting to assuage his own fears. Which is, if one considers it, a valid motivation for any poet.
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