Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud

1) If death was suddenly the newest member of our class would you avoid him? Be nice to him and try to get on his good side? How does the poet speak to Death?

If death was a member of our class room I would treat him like dirt because for everything he had done to people and I would not try to treat him like a good friend and try to treat him like John Donne did, and I wouldn't care if he took my life away and I would not have any fear from him.

2) Death with a capital "D" means that death is personified as a character representing the idea of death. Why might Donne choose to personify death?

Because this way he can use verbs to talk to him and it would be easier for Donne to talk to him and express how he feels towards Death.

3) What is the speaker's tone in this poem? What words or phrases tell you so?

The speaker's tone is very aggressive and angry towards Death and this can be seen when he says "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee might and dreadful, for you are not so." " Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, much pleasure." This basically says that he doesn't care weather Death takes his life away or not because he would get the same feeling is he is resting or sleeping and he has no fear from death.

4) What reasons does the speaker give that Death should not be proud?

There are many reasons mentioned in this poem that Death should not be proud and here are some example:

• Death, be not proud, though some have called you mighty and dreadful, for you are not so, from those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
• Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, and dost with poison, war and sickness dwell. ( Death missed his chances because the kings, and desperate men and those in wars and those men who over dose on drugs or committee suicide have already killed them selves and didn't give the chance to Death to take their lives away.)
• Poppy or charms can make us sleep as well and better than thy stroke. (This quote basically explains how Opium does the same thing as Death does and makes the drug users to sleep for a very long time and it's basically does what Death does.)

5) The dominant metaphorical concept in this poem is DEATH as ADVERSARY. In what whats is death an adversary?

Death could be considered and adversary in this poem because John Donne is talking to Death as if it's his enemy and he isn't scared at all to face Death and it's consequences.

6) If death is an adversary, how does the speaker suggest death can be defeated?

In the poem it says "One short sleep past, we wake eternally and death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die." This basically says that after one short amount of sleep, we shall wake up and be awake forever and death should not exist anymore and it shall die.

7) What does the concept of DEATH as ADVERSARY tell us about our culture? What might some other ways of viewing death be?

We can clearly see that John Donne with his perspective on death and referencing to his culture he isn't afraid of Death at all and isn't afraid to die, but in some cultures this might be completely different and people might look at it from a different lens and might be terrified of death because they would want to live more and experience more things in their lives.