Analysis of Sonnet 18

Donne conveys how religion is a central idea through the use of many religious references throughout the holy sonnets. In ‘Death Be Not Proud’, Donne makes a religious reference to Jesus, ‘Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee’, expressing how religion was an underlying theme when handling many issues. When the two texts are studied in alliance, it allows the responder to draw a better understanding of the themes presented in ‘W;t’. This theme, science VS religion, has been emphasised due to the contrasts between Vivian and Donne and their context.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (“Sonnet 18”) is one of Shakespeare’s most famous poems. It is the model English, or Shakespearean sonnet: it contains three quatrains and a finishing couplet.. The poem follows the traditional English sonnet form by having the octet introduce an idea or set up the poem, and the sestet beginning with a volta, or turn in perspective. In the octet of Sonnet 18, Shakespeare poses the question “Shall I compare the to a summer’s day” and basically begins to describe all the bad qualities of summer. He says it’s too windy, too short, too hot, and too cloudy. Eventually fall is going to come and take away all the beauty because of the changes nature brings. In the sestet, however, his tone changes as he begins to talk about his beloved’s “eternal summer” (Shakespeare line 9). This is where the turn takes place in the poem. Unlike the summer, their beauty will never fade. Not even death can stop their beauty for, according to Shakespeare, as long as people can read this poem, his lover’s beauty will continue to live. Shakespeare believes that his art is more powerful than any season and that in it beauty can be permanent.

William Shakespeare, a name renowned in all circles of English literature, when mentioned inspires recollections of writing and wit, of plays and poetry, and of love and loss. While his sonnets and plays have garnered most of his fame, Shakespeare’s talents extended to other forms of poetry; however, form does not curb his enthusiasm for addressing death. In his poem “Fear No More,” William Shakespeare wields repetition to not only uphold the ineluctable nature of death but also to establish the persistence and will of human nature.

John Donne’s diction, detail, point of view, metaphysical format, and tone used in “Holy Sonnet 10” convey both a feeling of cynical and domination, and also a sense of mockery of death. The effects on the reader include assurance and confidence in facing death.

Links between death and darkness, death and night, and death and a permanent ending are ones that have been made over and over throughout history. Similarly, the idea of death as a deliverance from the sufferings of human existence and as the journey to something better is recurrent in art and literature, but also in many religious beliefs. By playing with both tropes simultaneously, Thomas and Dowson offer a vulnerable and realistic portrayal of many people’s feelings about death. The duality, the uncertainty, seems conflicting but instead it widens the scope of the poems and offers a broader depiction of this inevitable human phenomenon. Neither poet gives a definitive answer as to what his belief about what lies beyond death is and yet, neither poems feel incomplete. They both pose a question rather than giving an answer, a tentative exploration instead of firm

Poets and authors alike evoke emotion and pictures from one single word. The imagery and thoughts put into the readers’ heads by these different writers are the base of one’s creativity and imagination while reading the author’s work of art. William Shakespeare is one of the most well-known poets of all time that is able to elicit these emotions from the reader to allow the reader to fully understand what Shakespeare is trying to accomplish with his poems. Shakespeare keeps his audience entertained with a whopping 154 sonnets, each having a different meaning and imagery associated with it. Sonnet 18, “[Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day]”, and Sonnet 55, “[Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments]”, are both one of Shakespeare’s most famous works. Shakespeare uses these sonnets to explore the powerful relationship between humanity, art, and time.

Death has always been an intriguing topic which many people delve into. Some view death fearfully, others embrace it, and some also reject it. The poems “Death, be not Proud” by John Donne and “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson, explore the nature of death. Their poems reflect each of their views on death. To emphasize and characterize Death, both authors personify death. While John Donne belittles Death for its powerlessness and berates it for its haughtiness, Emily Dickinson treats Death as a gentleman.

The second sonnet continues the argument and plea from sonnet one. This time through the imagery of military, winter, and commerce. Once again, time is the great enemy, besieging the youth’s brow, digging trenches in his face and ravaging his good looks. Beauty is conceived of as a treasure that decays unless, through love, its natural increase. By marrying and having children is made possible. The poet tries to scare the young man to marry and have children by showing him his future. When he is forty years old he will be nothing but a “tatter’d weed, of small worth held” because he will be alone and childless. The only thing that the young will have to look back for is his self-absorbed “Lusty days,” empty because

“Death be not proud” by John Donne personifies death, as its title aptly prescribes. Giving death human traits allows the writer to blast him with colorful images full of sarcasm and a tone of defiance. The ultimate message of the author provokes the human soul to resist the fear of death.

However, in contrast to Emily’s poem, the speaker undervalues death’s supremacy as its power is actually not in its own control. It is a contradictory to Emily’s poem. In line 9 "Thou’art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men" indicates death as a slave as it does what has been ordered from the superior ones. Death takes human’s life not because he is willing to do so but because he is forced to do so. In line 10-11, “And dost with poison, war and sickness… can make us sleep as well” the speaker associates death with poison, war and sickness as death is not the only factor of human’s deceases which then the speaker posts rhetorical question for death to stop being proud. Also, the usage of rhetorical questions like in line 2 “For thou art not so” makes death fragile. Further, the last line in this poem “And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die” points out that at the end, the only one who dies is death itself which will be discussed in the element of Christian theology in this essay. The ending also eventually argues that death is weak and vulnerable, not in control and that is the reason why human should not fear death. All the arguments made by the speaker in this poem creates death less powerful and less control of itself which illustrates a condescending tone to elucidate death’s incapability to kill.

Is death a slave to fate or is it a dreaded reality? People differ on the opinion of death, some people view death as a new beginning which should not be feared, while many people perceive death as an atrocious monster. Death be not proud, by John Donne is a poem that challenges death and the idea of its ferocity. Donne’s work is greatly influenced by the death of his countless family members, friends and spouse. Donne was not only a poet, but he was also a priest in the Church of England, so his interest in religion and his belief in eternal life after death, also contributed greatly to his work. The poem Death be not proud, is a metaphysical poem about death, in which John Donne undermines, ridicules, and determines the meaning of death, according to his perspective.

Donne even goes so far as to command God to destroy the person he has

Sonnet 6 is notable for the ingenious multiplying of conceits and especially for the concluding pun on a legal will in the final couplet: "Be not self-willed, for thou art much too fair / To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir." Here, as earlier in the sonnet, the poet juxtaposes the themes of narcissism and death, as well as procreation. "Self-willed" echoes line 4's "self-killed," and the worms that destroy the young man's dead body will be his only heirs should he die without begetting a child which shows the theme of death. The whole sonnet is about trying to persuade the man to have a baby hence the theme if procreation. And lastly, the man is being selfish in wanting to die without passing on his beauty.

In line nine "thy eternal summer shall not fade" is an allusion to the beloved staying young and beautiful for eternity. This line is referring to the season changing from summer to winter, this means that the beauty is temporary and fades over a short period of time. The beloved on the other hand is

The central theme, introduced quite early within the poem, is the helplessness of death. Throughout the poem the speaker belittles death and approaches it with such bravery and poise. Donne confronts death by saying it is not in any regard “mighty and dreadful” (2), but rather brings “much pleasure” (7). Death is personified in the poem, and in this regard, possess no greater power over man. The speaker of the poem is Donne himself. He uses his literary tools of rhetoric and poetic devices to belittle death. Throughout the poem, the speaker comes across as being slightly arrogant, but he refuses to show weakness. His arrogance shows that he is not afraid of death as he demands death not to be proud. Donne takes the association of death and sleep, and reinvents this comparison to a greater effect. He describes sleep as being “pictures” (5) of death and death is no more different or more frightening. He extends this metaphor throughout the poem. In the second last line of the poem he