Death, and his few Friends

1. I’d probably just treat his as I treat everyone in general, which is to be friendly, but pretty much give him a hard time about everything.  The poet seems to be speaking to him in a haughty manner, not fearing or respecting the power most say he has.  Also, let's assume that the fact that Death's in the 11th grade, means that Death's gone to school for the first 10 + kindergarten, and mabye preschool.  Thus, by this point Death would be used to people trying to buddy up to get what they want, and have a mistrust of anyone who acted extra friendly or like a 'gold digger'.  Coughatleast half our class.
2. Personifying death takes away the aura of power and the mist that death itself has around it, and gives it some limitations that people have.  Being a person, death can’t strike out of nowhere, and seems more like a person who only can act when someone else let it.
3. He doesn’t fear death, and is giving it a talking to about why it should drop its attitude as it’s not that hot.  This is seen in him saying, ‘Death, be not proud, thought some have called thee/Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;’ and ‘Death, thou shalt die’, along with, ‘Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.’
4. Death can only strike when other let it.  In fact, in a way it’s a slave to ‘fate, chance, kings, and desperate men’, as all these cause the deaths of people and force it to act.  Further, there are things that are similar to it that people don’t fear, and it isn’t permanent, thus it shouldn’t be feared as it can’t actually do anything.  In the same way, you shouldn’t fear the mailman for delivering a letter.
5. Death is like an adversary since people try to avoid it, or put it off.
6. By not running away from it, or fearing Death as it really is powerless.
7. That we’re afraid of endings and things that we don’t know.  Death could be looked at as a sleep, which wouldn’t be menacing, or part of a natural cycle.