Death, Be Not Proud - John Donne

Death is fear for every human, the difference of facing the death comes out from belief. The author, John Donne, reflected society and tried to change the mindset of its citizens. Most people think that the poem is about fearing death. However, in my opinion, the author intended to explain death as something to look forward to and not something to worry about. Donne used optimistic words in his poem to instill a positive image of death instead of a negative one. His way of thinking came about due to his belief in the Catholic faith.

In the first part of the poem, Donne tries to describe the positive side of the death and refutes common views about it. Donne attempts to change the common worldview of death by using happy words to describe the end of life. He tells people not to fear death but to laugh in its face. In the poem Death, Be Not Proud, the author uses the positive words such as “rest” (5, Donne), “charms” (11), and “pleasure” (6). These words give comforting feelings of death. In addition, the author used personification to make death seem more personal and less of a natural phenomenon. The author used colons and commas to give his opinion about death. He uses commas and colons to show the difference in thinking of people and him. Also, he uses strong words like, “mighty and dreadful” (2) and “slave to fate” (9). These are very powerful words to show that death is influential and unavoidable. In addition, Catholicism was a famous religion in England during the late 1500s and early 1600s. The author was a Catholic Christian and that gave him a positive view on death. Accordingly, the author wants to tell the opposite side of death through the title. Thus, the author uses the words to express different side of the death.

On the top of that, the religion was inferred in the poem. As the poem drew to its end, he changed the tension and mood of the poem. As the author finishes the poem, the optimistic thought about death by the author is caused by presence of God. In the last portion of the poem, it is directly pointing to God, “One short sleep past, we wake eternally/And death shall be no more, Death, thou shalt die” (13~14). This explains that the death is not only pessimistic within the God. Also, infers that people would live eternally after their death. When he talks about heaven, he infers different ideas about Catholicism. During the time period of his life, Catholicism was rapidly spreading, and he was one of the people who helped in the process. Consequently, he thought that God was the answer to everything. In addition, he implies the religious thought of God and that helps him to comfort. He tries to show the way to end their fear of death and live positively. Therefore, the author, John Donne had the guts to face death and not be scared of it.

John Donne tried to persuade the citizens to believe that the death should not be feared because it just meant that we could go to God. He used literary devices such as personification to illustrate his thought. Also, his word choices are very optimistic.

Thesis: the view of author about death is different from many people during the time because he has belief in God.

“Holy Sonnets: Death, Be Not Proud by John Donne.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44107/holy-sonnets-death-be-not-proud.