Compare And Contrast Karl Shapiro And John Donne

When comparing “Death, be not proud” (John Donne) the most comparable poem was “Because I could not stop for death” (Emily Dickinson). These poems were obviously similar in using death as the topic however; they were also similar in their attitude toward death. Donne expresses that death isn’t as powerful as it thinks it is. Donne is saying that although Death (referring to death as a person) thinks he's something special, because he has the power to take life, really, he's not. Death isn’t special because he must take everyone whether they're kings or just regular men. So that means he's really a slave to every

Wit explores the post-modern nihilists perspectives of death then offers comparisons and contrasts of approaching morality. The title itself ‘W;t’ being a metaphysical paradox, alludes further connection towards the structure of Donne’s work both visually and verbally, the semi-colon is significant as it is a symbolic play on death and suggests the moment between life and death. The punctuation acts as a visual sign of ‘insuperable barriers separating life death and eternal life’. Further use of the extended metaphor of the semi colon is shown in the deliberate intertextual allusion made by Bearing of ‘And Death – Capital D – shall be no more – semicolon’. The deviation surrounding the use of ‘,’ or ‘;’ contrasts to illustrate shifting perceptions of death between the 17th to the 20th century with semicolon representing ultimatum while the coma representing continuation. Through the linguistic metaphor of ‘Death is nothing but a breath – a comma’ emphasises

In society, death is usually eyed with consternation. In “Meditation 17,” John Donne faces his own mortality, and sees how humanity is connected as a whole. John Donne uses several literary connotations like metaphors, similes, synecdoche, allusions/personification, and symbolism to establish themes in this work.

Death is among the greatest mysteries of the human existence, one of the issues being that neither science, religion, or philosophy have definitive explanations on it. Although Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet explore death and dying, the former advocates for people to be more optimistic in these circumstances than the latter. Station Eleven’s characters focus their thoughts on living and improving their situation to achieve their goals while Hamlet's characters concentrate on dying and how to end the misery of life, as they are hopeless to change their fate. The ability to make decisions result in opposite outcomes for the characters in each text as Station Eleven’s characters have free will and are rewarded for using it, whereas Hamlet’s characters are punished for seeking to control their future. The development of each character’s life is due to their respective text favouring or punishing free will. The consequences of exercising free will in Station Eleven yield positive results because humans can control their own destiny in a world of death, while in Hamlet, contrarily, humans are controlled by fate and have to endure the consequences of attempting to defeat it.

Most people in the world are afraid of death or do not like the topic of death at all. There were a lot of poems written about death. Some being scared of death and some accepting the fact of death. Well in the poems “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson and “Death be not proud” by John Donne these poets have a different outlook on death than most people. Dickinson and Donne think that death should not be feared. In both of the poems, death is personified as a person but the poets use different tones to make the poems have different meanings.

Whitman also describes death in a very delicate manner, which allows the reader to feel that death is in a way, good. For instance, he describes the soldiers as noisy in war, but when they die, there is silence. Silence resembles death, yet it's not a negative way of expressing it. As the poet encounters with more memories of suffering, he calls to death: "Come sweet death! be persuaded O beautiful death!/ In mercy come quickly" (lines 44-45). He believes death will alleviate the pains and that it is good. Another delicate way of describing death, and an excellent choice of words, is when he says he recalls "the experience (as) sweet and sad" (line 63) These young soldiers have so much life ahead of them and they are dying, this makes it 'sad'. Yet since they are suffering so much, it's 'sweet' that they die. In this particular poem, Whitman portrays an attitude of positive welcoming of death.

Death is a theme that is used all too often in literature. Usually when people encounter death, they come to expect certain feelings. Whether someone they know has passed away, or they are just reading a play in which someone dies; death is often associated with feelings of anger, depression, and denial. In a play titled Wit, Margaret Edson depicts stages of dying through a woman who is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In his holy sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud”, John Donne challenges death in a way that illustrates his belief that there is an afterlife.

The author’s diction makes the reader feel that death ca be defeated. For example, death has been called “mighty and dreadful” but the author shows that it is not more than a “short sleep” where men go for the “rest of their bones.” The general idea of death is frightful and scary, but the reader is told that it’s only a short phase everyone goes through. It’s an opportunity for men to separate their soul and physical body. In

It is obvious, through the way the book is narrated that Death is conveyed in a very poetic and deeply

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.

The theological Doctor who delivers the epilogue underscores the play’s moral lesson: “And he that hath his account whole and sound, high in heaven he shall be crowned” (lines 916-917). He reminds the audience that this play about dying right is, equally, in the end, about the importance of living right. Our life, our mortality is futile – Everyman seeks to impress upon its audience an awareness of life’s impermanence, and ability to discern the eternal in the midst of the transitory, and a commitment to live life as if every day might be one’s last. Mortality is to be thought about long before you meet death and cease to exist. Although Everyman is founded deeply in robust Christian ideals, it still appeals to the masses to consider the life they inhabit, to consider the air you breathe, to consider that you must someday meet death the same way every other mortal meets death. Mortality is inevitable, and we must be aware of it before it knocks us off our feet. But this begs the question: Is mortality an idea to fear or an idea to revere? If we must think about mortality, in what way must we consider it? Everyman persuades us to consider our own frailty, but the play also persuades us to fear an untimely visit from Death. However, we shall only fear this visit have we not lived a righteous and worthy life. Then again, who deems our life worthy or righteous? What is considered a life worth living? If we are in the dark as to what a righteous life truly is, this leads us back

“Death” himself is proud to collect people’s life but in Donne’s view he should not be proud as it is only a way for people wake eternally.

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.

Karl Shapiro and John Donne are poets who view death in a different manner looking at to the main ideas of their poems Auto wreck and death be not proud. According to the Department of basic Education (2014) these two poems share the same theme which is mortality and the main ideas are different since Donne’s poem denies the fact that death has power within people and Shapiro seems confused by the unpredictableness of the death by car accident. In real life we also have people who view death in a different manner and they are encouraged by their own beliefs. The Christians believe that they are going to live an eternal life after death and they are readily waiting for death to take them away from the misery while others perceive death as frightening and it cannot be tolerated.

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