Death be not proud

?
View mindmap
  • Holy sonnet X - Death be not Proud
    • reading and singing differences. depending on the final line 'death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die' or the original Westmorelandmanuscript 'death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die.' Death can appear either as vanquished or made human
    • "Death be not proud, though some have called thee"
      • either means death is not proud, or the imperative command
    • those whom thou think'st thou dost otherthrow/die not
      • death is not the end
    • nor yet canst thou kill me.
      • full stop adds force to Donne's command
      • is he looking for security? Is he pleading?
    • From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,/ Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow
      • Donne creates a logic.
      • death is the eternal sleep - Donne tries to make this appear pleasant.
      • is he trying to tempt death, to attack it, or is he trying to comfort himself?
    • our best men with thee do go...Thou'art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men
      • death is no God, but controlled by the people who command death
      • everyone must die, and few people die naturally
    • "with poison, war and sickness dwell;/ And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well"
      • our best men with thee do go...Thou'art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men
        • death is no God, but controlled by the people who command death
        • everyone must die, and few people die naturally
      • building lists, creating length - a build up which is ended by the languid well
    • "thy stroke"
    • One short sleep past, we wake eternally"
      • "thy stroke"
      • death is an inevitable interval
    • compare this confidence with "A Hymn to God the Father"
      • "i have a sin of fear that of fear that when I've spun/ my last thread, I shall perish on the shore
    • compare this with A Nocturnal
      • "I am re-begot/ Of absences, darkness and death, things which are not"
    • context: salvation and fear of death
    • petrarchan sonnet - volta happens line nine where Donne sharpens his attack vs. death

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar English Literature resources:

See all English Literature resources »See all John Donne resources »