Fear and the Afterlife in “Death, be not proud”
Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
The idea of death often evokes frightening images of a mighty grim reaper or an inevitable, vacuumous end to all things living. In his poem, “Holy Sonnet 10” or “Death, be not proud,” John Donne refutes this perception by thoroughly discrediting death as an entity that only serves as a pathway to eternal afterlife rather than a final destination for the departed. He thus encourages an unfearful approach to death as a source of little power and too much arrogance.
Throughout the poem, the speaker personifies “Death” and immediately addresses them as “thee” in the first line. Death becomes a sentient body, capable of arrogance and misunderstanding. The beginning of the poem foreshadows the rest of the poem by setting the precedent that Death has been wrongly considered “mighty and dreadful,” (line 2). This perception is false as the speaker argues that the people Death is supposed to overthrow, “Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me,” (line 4). In this line, the speaker directly removes power from Death by claiming that they are unable to commit their threat of sending people to death and demeans Death as someone who is pitiful and “poor.” The use of a period after this line provides an authoritative and final tone. It is a full statement without exception. As Death is commonly viewed as a looming, powerful inevitability, the speaker directly contradicts this image by stating that Death is unable to actually kill people and depicting it as something pitiable. Without being able to carry out its threat, the fear of Death thus becomes groundless.
The speaker continues to express Death’s intimidation as unfounded by suggesting that pleasure can come from Death. This is emphasized in lines 5 and 6 as the speaker compares Death to rest and sleep. They state that as “much pleasure” is derived from rest and sleep, which are pictures of Death, then much more pleasure must also flow from Death itself. This juxtaposition of Death and pleasure forces the audience to view Death as a possible positive source, rather than the dreadful end to life. Similarly, the close comparison between Death, rest, and sleep suggests an air of peace and relaxation around the entrance to Death. This tone continues as the speaker relays positive experiences with death, “And soonest our best men with thee do go, / Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery,” (lines 7-8). While these lines mark the end of the first stanza, their meaning conveys the ongoing journey that uses Death as a courier. Rather than disappearing from the world, those who die can let their “bones,” signifying their physical bodies, rest on the earth. Furthermore, their soul is delivered by Death to another destination, likely the afterlife, which would suitably be an eternity after death. This minimizes Death as a transport system to another location instead of the destination itself, highlighting the little influence that Death really holds over people after their life has ended.
In the next stanza, the speaker discredits Death’s arrogance by emphasizing its lack of will and effective action in the world. The speaker demeans Death, highlighting examples of its manipulation and abuse by arguing, “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, / And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,” (lines 9-10). These lines, along with the start of a new stanza, mark a turn in the poem. After demonstrating the lack of power and control that Death holds in the previous stanza, the speaker actively targets Death’s weaknesses in these two lines. By using the word, “slave,” Death is illustrated to be merely a tool, subject to the whims of many subjects from fate to royalty to an emotionally wild man. Death lacks control over its little influence. This suggests that Death is similar to “poison, war, and sickness” as it is not beyond human capacity. The speaker distributes power to everyday people through the use of “desperate men,” as they suggest that anyone willing enough is able to enslave Death.
Similarly, the rhyme scheme across lines 10 and 11 associate Death with earthly items and subject it to a place inferior to human-created drugs. As “dwell” and “well” are exact rhymes, these lines flow easily after each other in a smooth rhythm. This rhythm is only broken with a challenge to Death as the speaker postulates, “And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well, / And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?” (line 11-12). The words “poppy” and “charms” allude to human forms of trances, such as opioids for the poppies and disease-healing incantations for the charms. These were both used in history as human strategies to cope with suffering or pain, and even prevent death. As the speaker argues that they are more effective than the stroke of death, the stanza ends with a rhetorical question that suggests that Death should not be as prideful as it is.
The final two lines of the poem function to repeat the speaker’s purpose in the poem by comparing Death to a short sleep that passes people to an eternal life. This circles back to the speaker’s previous point of the afterlife, establishing a larger destination beyond death. However, at the end of the poem, the speaker goes further to state, “Death, thou shalt die,” (line 14). This is the final stage in the speaker’s desecration of Death, illustrating that after the short passage to an eternal life, Death itself will no longer exist. As the speaker has equated the process of dying as a delivery to the afterlife, Death will “die” and be moved to an eternal afterlife where death would not exist. Death is merely temporary while the afterlife is permanent, demonstrating the final and enduring weakness of Death.
This was probably my favorite poem I’ve ever read. I’m not sure, but something about me reading this poem, I loved the way it flowed, and what the poet was trying to explain. To me, I felt the same way, thinking this poem could be about how death is temporary, yet the afterlife is a permanent state. “Death will die” is a really interesting point for the poet to make. I have never thought about that way, that die will die and eventually the afterworld will come into play.
Hello, Claire!
I thought your explication essay was quite thorough in explaining most of the nuances in your poem, seamlessly connecting imagery, diction, and other literary elements to the poem’s overall narrative. As you mentioned before, although the poem seems to be alluding to the salvation of an afterlife, its themes of resisting death – or more accurately, the fear of death – resonate profoundly even without religious connotations. For me, this poem actually reminded me of “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” and “Her Kind,” and especially the two speakers’ distinct perspectives on death. Death, as you analyzed, may be a slave to tyrannical kings or desperate men, but this is not a power to be feared for individuals who are sure that they have left a significant impact on the world. Thus, as Anne Sexton would say, “a woman (or not a woman, we’re trying to be inclusive here) like that is not afraid to die.”
Hey Claire!
I thought the way that you interpreted this poem was so profound. I never thought to interpret the author as portraying death to be a source of arrogance, and I loved the way that you emphasized the personification of Death and the corresponding characteristics, as well as the flaws of Death, as is present in any other regular human being. I never thought to consider death to be something that’s pitiful, or misunderstood, so I thought it was really interesting how you included that in your interpretation of the poem. Overall, it was a very thorough and in depth analysis and you had some very good insights!