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John Donne's use of death

 

He points out the weaknesses of death and, with a confident tone, declares his victory over it by means of his lack of respect and fear for its implications. Donne belittles death by commenting on its strong dependence on humanity. He goes on to describe it as a mere transition, which does not serve as an end, but instead, a 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 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 does not have such powers. Death is not all-powerful, since it is part of God's creation. Furthermore, death is 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 presents a change in Donne's theme shifting from death to Donne himself. "Soonest our best men with thee do go" (259) is used by Donne to remind the reader that death is not a punishment that only a few people receive, but an occurrence everyone will and must endure. The fact that even "our best men" will embark on death's journey means that many people fear death as being the final chapter of their lives. The following line explains both the physical and spiritual need for death, since it provides "rest of their bones, and soul's delivery" (259); not only will death renew the body, but also the spirit, readying it for the glorious return of God and the afterlife.
             In the next two lines, "Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, / And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell" (259), Donne proposes the idea that death is not mighty, but indeed is a slave, with "Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men" as his masters.


Essays Related to John Donne's use of death

1. When Death Dies: John Donne

When Death Dies: John Donne's Positive Spin on Death Death is ordinarily viewed with a certain finality that causes it to be viewed negatively. However, John Donne refutes this common belief in his poem, "Death, be not proud". Although death is the end of mortal life, Donne establishes it as a positive occurrence resulting in eternalness. ... John Donne's final quatrain does more than just pronounce death's goodness but goes so far as to mock it. ... He's saying that people don't need death because they can use other methods to sleep such as drugs or magic. ...

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

2. John Donne

John Donne Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation 17 Ann's father, Sir George More, was furious when he became aware of the secret marriage. ... George More was a wealthy landowner, and immediately used his influence to have Donne jailed and dismissed from his position as Egerton's secretary. ... It was during this time period that Donne supposedly wrote his "sad letter to his Wife" that contained the following well known line: "John Donne, Anne Donne, Un-done." ... Donne recorded his experience of Ann's death in a sonnet . ... After his wife's death, Donne'...

  • Word Count: 776
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Interpretation of John Donne's

METAPHYSICAL CONCEITS IN DONNE"S "THE RELIC" In most, if not all, of his works, John Donne uses the concept of "metaphysical conceits" to extensively compare one thing to another. ... Donne typically uses the title of each of his works as a vehicle by which this conceit is portrayed (i.e., "The Flea") and thus creates a sort of double meaning for it. ... Donne uses this word to describe he and his lover after they are deceased. ... Donne uses this definition of the word to describe himself and his deceased lover. ... However, the second meaning of this word is how Donne uses it in the line...

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

4. John Donne And Metaphors

John Donne turns this tool into an art form in his poetry as he weaves absurd relationships between two or more seemingly unrelated ideas. ... One good example of Donne's use of absurd metaphors is in the poem entitled "The Flea". ... Donne's use of metaphors continues in the second stanza as the female is about to kill the flea. The death of the flea is portrayed as a tragic event, compared to killing three people at once. ... The third example of Donne effectively using metaphors to express his feelings is from "Holy Sonnet 14". ...

  • Word Count: 1414
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

5. John Donne's World

John Donne created a metaphysical world where everyone is connected, eternality is different from immortality, and where death has no power. ... "And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.... A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning talks about how John Donne and his wife's love is like a compass, if one leans the other leans with it. ... That phrase brings into light one of Donne's biggest themes, we are all connected in some way shape or form. ... People don't tend to think about how we are all connected in a small way, so let's use the butterfly for an example. ...

  • Word Count: 557
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

6. John Donne - Woman's Constancy

The majority of the poem concentrates on the possible arguments a lover might use; giving the impression that Donne was bitter over this experience. ... "Readers of John Donne have long recognised the remarkable extent to which legal, theological, and medical vocabularies compete and overlap in his works." The same is true of "Woman's Constancy"; Donne's arguments are ingenious, utilising legal elements; such as oaths (which are not valid if taken under pressure), and the idea of "lovers contracts", which, while similar to that of marriage (whose contract is only broken at death), t...

  • Word Count: 636
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Commentary on John Donne

The commentary of John Donne's poem "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" describes this piece as a poem of the speaker telling his lady not to weep if he is to never return from the journey he will be going on. ... Donne, in his poem, uses the imagery of the universe to compare and contrast his relationship to the relationships of others. For example the line "Dull Sublunary lovers" love" (Line 13) is used to show the people beneath the sphere of the moon, and those that are imperfect. He also uses such images death in comparing his departure from his lady to actually dying. ... However,...

  • Word Count: 319
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Death, Be Not Proud

Title of Work: Death, be not proud Author: John Donne John Donne's Death, be not proud is a particularly interesting poem that expresses the act of dying as something natural and pleasant abandoning the reputation it has held for being frightening or powerful. ... Donne goes on the explain that both rest and sleep are like little copies of Death, and because they are pleasurable, therefore Death must be even more so. ... The idea that Death can die is startling and hard to imagine, but it makes sense in light of Donne's reasoning. ... Donne successfully used various ...

  • Word Count: 755
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. John Donne & Robert Herrick compare/contrast

Two authors, Robert Herrick and John Donne, have many similarities and differences within their work. ... Time has a completely different meaning when it comes to John Donne. ... The topic of death is strongly used to encourage the "carpe diem" theme. John Donne uses the topic of death in a different way. ... Each author uses death to describe unpleasant things. ...

  • Word Count: 607
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School