Poem Response

1. If death came to our class, I don't think I would avoid him, but I wouldn't be his best friend either. I would talk to him occasionally, have a few conversations but that would be the end of it. I would most probably try to treat Death as any other classmate, but it would be hard to overcome the fact that he is so much more powerful that anyone else around me. I know some people would try to suck up to him and use try to use his powers for themselves, but I don't think there is any point in trying that because Death knows what he is doing ... after all, he is pretty experienced.
2. John Donne describes death as "proud", "mighty" and "dreadful". The poet also directly communicates with death on several occasions like: "Die not poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me...". The poet utilizes all of these techniques in order to personify death and build something that almost resembles a human embodiment of death itself. Therefore it makes a lot of sense the write "Death" with a capital "D". It enhances the effect of personification.
3. Throughout the poem, the  poet has a defiant tone which is visible in the following phrase: " Die not poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me...". John Donne's poem has a lot of evidence of condemning death's actions like: "And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell ....". Further elements of defiance are present in the end of the poem where Donne suggests that even death can die (metaphorically) after the human passes away. "And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.".
4. As mentioned above, the author condemns the doing of death like: wars, slavery, disease, suicides and fate. If a human being was to be accused of these deeds, it would be nothing to be proud of as everyone would hate that human being. Therefore by portraying "Death" as a person, the author is able to condemn it and shame it as he would be able to do with a human being.
5. Death is described as a person's adversary because it is the worst thing that can happen to a person (in most cases). Death can steal the most valuable thing that people have, something that no amount of gold may replace. This something is the person's own life or the life of someone he/she loves. Therefore  Death is regarded as a main antagonist in the poem.
6. The last phrase in the poem suggests that one can escape Death and even kill it by accepting his own demise and therefore making Death powerless against himself.
7. The poem signifies that Death is the last thing that we would want to face in our lives, be it our own death or that of our beloved people. In my opinion, the poet encourages battling death and keeping away from it as it is the by-product of all misery on or planet. Other ways of viewing death may be thinking it as a physical state of a human being when the vital functions of the human body cease to operate, thus leading to the permanent shut-down of the human body.