... addresses Death, his tone critical and belittling. He begins by saying, "Death be not proud for thou art not soe;" This openly challenges Death's authority and power. By referring to Death as a person, he makes it easier for the reader to bring Death down to a level of weakness and venerability, making death seem ... also states that Death is, as we, are a, " Slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men", Which expresses his view that Death has hardly any power over us. This is due to the fact that Death cannot collect our souls unless these people (chance, kings and desperate men) act...

• Word Count: 962
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... personification is used. Death obtains the human vice of pride. The author mocks Death and proves Death's pride is undeserved. Death is shown to be a fool. Death's power to take someone's life is personified. Death "overthrows" life. The word choice of "overthrow" is special indeed. It connotes a battle, a war. Thus, life ... our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones and souls" delivery. Death's power is again trampled when Donne says "And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well/ And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?" Donne contrasts Death to "drugs" and charms, wh...

• Word Count: 1142
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... and yet belittling tone. The opening of the poem, "Death, be not proud for thou art not so;" (1-2) shows his challenge to Death's authority and power. He goes on to tell Death, "those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow/ Die not, poor Death nor yet canst thou kill me." (3-4) Donne condemns ... and challenges Death's power over human beings. Donne explains his bravery to Death by expressing that if Death is like sleep than he would be better off still. When he goes ... that Death is a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men," (9) and this conveys his opinion that like these t...

• Word Count: 1102
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... art not so" (259) demonstrates his own uncertainty on the death issue, given that the "some" he mentions includes himself at times. However he denies the power of death in the very next line, and proceeds to list several reasons why. The people whom death believes it kills, do not actually die, because death ... idea that death is not mighty, but indeed is a slave, with "Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men" as his masters. Death does not always have the power to choose who is to die - fate and chance may suddenly take someone, kings on a impulse may doom people to their deaths, and des...

• Word Count: 1112
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... religious belief in eternal life by stating that death for the body is a birth for the spirit and its ascent to heaven. In the third quatrain, the speaker mocks Death's power. The speaker explains how Death is reliant on the acts of "fate and chance," as well as servant to the whim of "kings and desperate men" (9). Fate and chance are ... to be knocked out cold or to experience a sense of euphoria similar to death. The poet reasons that Death provides a "supernatural high" to its victims. The speaker uses the word "stroke" to reinforce this idea that death is a lucky and happy occasion....

• Word Count: 773
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School