... new awakening to an eternal afterlife. The opening lines of Holy Sonnet 10, "Death be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou 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 ... not an end to life. Rather, it is a kind of "sleep," a middle stage to overcome before being reunited with God. The line, "Nor yet canst thou kill me" (259) serves to reinforce the idea of death as a mere transitory stage between the earthly and the afterlife. This line also pre...

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

... 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 ... He then criticizes Death by saying, "and poppy or charms can make us sleep as well, / And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou now?" (11-12). This further explains the comparing between Death and sleep stating that there are other ways to sleep besides dying. He better expla...

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

... first four lines of the poem, John Donne aggressively and directly 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 ... to Heaven instead of Hell. They try to lead good lives so that GOD lets them stay on this great earth for a while longer. In line 9, "Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men". The narrator goes against us being slaves to death and says that Death is a slav...

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

... this fall in a time, or land, Where misdevotion doth command, Then, he that digs us up, will bring Us, to the Bishop, and the King, To make us relics; then Thou shalt be a Mary Magdalen, and I A something else thereby;" It seems that Donne uses the word "relic" in two completely different ways. A relic, first of all, is an artifact from long ago ... , once buried, their bodies will become "relics", becoming ancient in the ground as time passes. However, the second meaning of this word is how Donne uses it in the line " Thou shalt be a Mary Magdalen, and I / A something else thereby;". Wh...

• Word Count: 522
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... 30 lines, an aubade (French 12th century form, originating in Provence, where a mistrel was outside calling to his mistress). Tone Aggressive: Busie old foole, unruly Sunne."œ Reprimanding: Why dost thou thus Forceful: Goe tell Court-huntsemen Call countrey ants Pompous: I could eclipse and cloud them with a winke Melodramatic: She is all States, and all Princes, I Sardonic: Thine age askes ease ... sight so long."œ Paradox: If her eyes have not blinded thine."œ a subtle comparison and outrageous suggestion that his s radiance could blind the omnipresent sun Pun: adds emphasis And th...

• Word Count: 7662
• Approx Pages: 31
• Grade Level: High School

... be afraid of. Donne's first quatrain declares that death is not powerful because although it may think that it's killing people, it's really not. Donne writes, "For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow/Die not" (3-4), which states his theological opinion that after death is eternal life. He is personifying death saying it thinks he's killing people when he's actually not ... that these methods are even better than sleep, death's copy. He finally ends the poem with, "One short sleep past, we wake eternally/And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die" (13-14). This puts a fi...

• Word Count: 473
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... he is not overwhelmed by the fear of it as others often are. In lines 1-2, he says, "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee, Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so". In other words, although many may believe death to be dreadful, he feels this is not so. In line 9, Donne sees death as being dependent on mankind ... as nothing more than a transition into an eternally vast afterlife. In lines 13-14, Donne says, "After one short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall no more; Death, thou shalt die". Death is a short sleep from which we wake forever. It is nothing to fe...

• Word Count: 382
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the first stanza, he has now lost the angry impatience of his rebuke to the sunne, and changed the tone through calm conceits: "Aske for those Kings whom thou saw'st yesterday, And thou shalt heare, all here in one bed lay" Ultimately, the matter of love results in the recognition of more metaphysical emotions, and thus more content. From his critique, Rickey ... ...

• Word Count: 994
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... himself into him, because he is willing to go through any amount of pain and torture to get what he wants. He begs death to " move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in me," to stay inside of him, he wants to get away from all the people around him and their foolish opinions of him, he just wants death to, "shield ... ...

• Word Count: 1019
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School