About the Author
John Donne (22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a Catholic family, a remnant of the Catholic Revival, who reluctantly became a cleric in the Church of England. He was Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in London (1621–1631). He is considered the pre-eminent 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. He is also known for his sermons.
Donne's works, both in love poetry and religious poetry, places him as a central figure among the Metaphysical poets. The nineteen poems that constitute the collection were never published during Donne's lifetime although they did circulate in manuscript. Many of the poems are believed to have been written in 1609 and 1610, during a period of great personal distress and strife for Donne who suffered a combination of physical, emotional, and financial hardships during this time. This was also a time of personal religious turmoil as Donne was in the process of conversion from Roman Catholicism to Anglicanism, and would take holy orders in 1615 despite profound reluctance and significant self-doubt about becoming a priest.
John Donne was a famous metaphysical poet. The popularity of this poem lies in its unique subject, as it was a devotional as well as a warning to ‘personified’ death. Using the metaphor of death, the poet argues that death is not permanent and it serves as an eternal pathway to life hereafter. He also has demonstrated the Christian doctrine of resurrection and immortality of the soul, calling death as an inferior.
Introduction
'Death Be Not Proud' is a sonnet
written by the English author John Donne
(1572-1631). Donne initially wrote poems based on romance, but moved into more religious themes as his career matured. In his later life, he converted from Catholicism to Anglicanism, the official Church of England. His later poems reflect his deep religious faith and his life as an ordained priest and dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
'Death Be Not Proud' is a piece showing the religious undertones in Donne's poetry. Donne highlights his Christian belief taking reference from Bible Corinthians 15:26, where Paul writes 'the final enemy to be destroyed is death'. Sonnet X, also known by its opening words as "Death Be Not Proud", is a fourteen-line poem, or sonnet.
Rhyme Scheme:
Donne’s
“Holy Sonnet 10” follows the Elizabethan/Shakespearean sonnet form in that it
is made up of three quatrains and a concluding couplet. However, Donne has
chosen the Italian/Petrarchan sonnet rhyme scheme of abba for the first two
quatrains, grouping them into an octet typical of the Petrarchan form. He switches
rhyme scheme in the third quatrain to cddc, and then the couplet rhymes ee as
usual.
Meter:
Most of the verses of this poem are
written in iambic pentameter in which unstressed syllable is followed by a
stressed syllable. However, the meter fluctuates, as the poem progresses.
Analysis
The
analysis of these poetic devices shows this sonnet as a unique
representative poem for mixing Shakespearean and Petrarchan style in its structure and meter.
The first quatrain focuses on the subject and audience of this poem: death. By addressing Death, Donne makes it/him into a character through personification. The poet warns death to avoid pride (line 1) and reconsider its/his position as a “Mighty and dreadful” force (line 2). He concludes the introductory argument of the first quatrain by declaring to death that those it claims to kill “Die not” (line 4), and neither can the poet himself be stricken in this way.
The second quatrain, which is closely linked to the first through the abba rhyme scheme, turns the criticism of Death as less than fearful into praise for Death’s good qualities. From Death comes “Much pleasure” (line 5) since those good souls whom Death releases from earthly suffering experience “Rest of their bones” (line 6). Donne then returns to criticizing Death for thinking too highly of itself: Death is no sovereign, but a “slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men” (line 9); this last demonstrates that there is no hierarchy in which Death is near the top.
Although a desperate man can choose Death as an escape from earthly suffering, even the rest which Death offers can be achieved better by “poppy, or charms” (line 11), so even there Death has no superiority.
The final couplet caps the argument
against Death. Not only is Death the
Servant of other powers and essentially impotent to truly kill anyone, but also Death is itself destined to die when, as in the Christian tradition, the dead are resurrected to their eternal reward. Here Donne echoes the sentiment of the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:26, where Paul writes that “the final enemy to be destroyed is death.”
Donne taps into his Christian background to point out that Death has no power and one day will cease to exist.
Theme
The major theme in the poem is the powerlessness of death. The poem comprises the poet’s emotions, mocking the position of death and arguing that death is unworthy of fear or awe. According to him, death gives birth to our souls. Therefore, it should not consider itself mighty, or superior as ‘death’ is not invincible. The poet also considers death an immense pleasure similar to sleep and rest. For him, the drugs can also provide the same experience. The poem foreshadows the realistic presentation of death and also firmly believes in eternal life after death.
Donne has presented death as a powerless figure. He denies the authority of death with logical reasoning, saying the death does not kill people. Instead, it liberates their souls and directs them to eternal life. He does not consider it man’s invincible conqueror. Instead, he calls it a poor fellow without having free will. The arrival of death is also compared with a short rest and sleep that recuperates a person for the upcoming journey. The poet’s denial to the conventional approach of death gives the reader a new interpretation.
