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Death Be Not Proud by John Donne with a podcast to analyze and review for advanced ESL students. Join LELB Society’s students and improve your English with great English poems, films, short stories, etc.
Death Be Not Proud
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are 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.— By John Donne
Podcast of Death Be Not Proud
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Analysis of Death Be Not Proud
In this poem, the speaker affronts an enemy, Death personified. This enemy is one most fear, but in this sonnet, the speaker essentially tells him off. The way the speaker talks to Death reveals that he is not afraid of Death, and does not think that Death should be so sure of himself and so proud.
The confident tone of ‘Death, be not Proud,’ and the direct confrontation of Death provides an ironic sense of comfort to the readers by implicitly suggesting that Death is not to be feared at all, but that in the end, Death will be overcome by something even greater.
Source: Poem Analysis
About John Donne
John Donne (1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London (1621–1631). He is considered the preeminent 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.
Source: Wikipedia
John Donne has such unique perspective. I think he is trying to say, death is not scary and also isn’t the end. It’s like a sleep but transferring us to a place that we live eternally. Death is a companion of poison, war and sickness so there is nothing for it to be proud of.
This poem is hard like each other poems and John donne was really great at this. I really get impressed by this poems.
I found this poem rather diffucult to understand at first. But reading it several times and searching the words I found an intersting meaning conveyed by it. Having no fear from death and contempting it that you death should not be proud of yourself because you are just only a transition that take me to a better place. A real relogious man with deep beleif in God can have such idea of transition.
Throughout history, there were so many different perspectives and beliefs said about death and life and the concept of them.
Some say death is the end, some don’t have any idea, some don’t care and say Carpe diem and seize the moment, and at last some say it is just a gate to another world just as John Donne.
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