Death, Be Not Proud

To begin, the speaker of the poem “Thou famished grave” presents a resentful and aggressive attitude towards death. The poem, addressed to a “ famished grave” (1), personifies a grave as a starving beast that can “roar” (2), “gnaw” (3), and has “dismal jaws” (7). This represents death in a negative way because the description of the beast make it seem unpleasant and to be feared. Furthermore, the poem includes words and phrases when addressing the grave that follow the theme of starvation, such as, “famished grave” (1), “Gnaw thine own sides, fast on” (3), and “I cannot starve thee out: I am thy prey” which emphasizes that the beast of death is starving to take someone’s life. This animal-like aggressiveness adds to the already negative image of the beast. This imagery also shows how the speakers thinks of death since it comes from her words which shows that she sees death in a very negative way. Due to this, the speaker is angry and does not want to give death what it wants, which is to take someone’s life. Additionally, although death is something normally feared, the speaker shows that she is not fearful by saying “I have no fear / of thy dark project” (3-4) when speaking to the grave. She expresses that she does not want to die and her “heart is set / On living” (4-5), which explains her resentfulness towards death. She also understands that death is inevitable as she says, “I cannot starve thee out: I am thy prey / And thou shalt have me; but I dare defend / That I can stave thee off” (6-8). This shows that even though she knows that she will one day die, she still doesn’t want to give death what it wants and will fight as long as she can

How do you view death in the 21st century? Throughout history, the concept of death has taken many forms. Many people consider death as something that is terrifying and horrific, but there are some who view death as a peaceful stepping off point into a blissful eternity. Some prominent poets that have shared their different perspectives regarding death include John Donne, Emily Dickinson, and Randall Jarrell. John Donne was an influential English poet of the 17th century, Emily Dickinson was a distinguished American poet in the 19th century, and Randall Jarrell was a well-known American poet of the 20th century. Although John Donne’s “Death be not Proud,” Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death,” and Randall Jarrell’s “Death of

Death is an extremely touchy point to talk about. In "Native Guard" a book of sonnets composed by Natasha Trethewey. In the works of "Graveyard Blues", "After Your Death", and "Myth" death was the primary theme. Everything that is lives must bite the dust its regular and everybody has their own interpretation of death. Some can acknowledge death as a feature of life and feel great about it.

"Death, Be Not Proud" has an unusual theme compared to other poems about death. This poem talks about God rendering death's power useless. It speaks about death positively, instead of a gateway to Hell, it is instead a path to Heaven. At the beginning, it seems this poem is a letter taunting death, saying that one day, death will be no more. It compares death to sleep, saying that eventually, people will awaken for eternity. This poem has a great way of intertwining death and Christianity together in a motivational letter.

Death is something every living thing will face at the end of their life. There is no way to escape it. Some people fear death or accept it. Some even seek it out. “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant, “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas and “Don’t Fear the Reaper“ by Blue Oyster Cult are three different poems written about death that express different outlooks on it.

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.

When you think of the word “death” what exactly comes to mind? For most people you may think of pitch black darkness for death is the opposite, the recipical of life just like darkness is the opposite of light it remains a mysterious phenomenon that we all must experience. Just like darkness we don’t know what’s inside it, we have no idea what happens after death therefore we fear it. In fact in Eckhart Tolle’s article “The Origin of Fear” he brings to us a thesis of “but ultimately all fear is the ego's fear of death, of annihilation. To the ego, death is always just around the corner.”(Tolle) This is a very powerful realization that all fear is the fear of death, we fear a spider because it may kill us, we have a fear of heights because we may fall to our death. But fortunately for us, in the novel “Tuesdays With Morrie” we have a dying Socially Professor Morrie Schwartz who is just on the bridge between life and death. He gives us another realization that we shouldn’t fear death for it is not this be all end all concept, that it may be the opposite of life but shouldn’t be considered a villainous ego and that death is needed for it is the great equalizer in nature.

Death is a natural occurrence that happens to every living organism. Though, death is a destined occurrence many people have many different point of views on death. In Alan Seeger’s poem, “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” he further elaborates on death in his perspective as a soldier in battle and in “Because I could not stop for death” Emily Dickinson explains her poem in a perspective of a white puratan women. In the poems, “I Have a Rendezvous with Death” by Alan Seeger and “Because I could not stop for Death” by Emily Dickinson, both explain to readers what death means to them and their point of view on death is and the implications it may have on them. Overall, these poems use diction, repetition, personification, and even rhyme to relate

The speaker in “Holy Sonnet 10” speaks to Death as a human. Death is a joke in the speaker's eyes. He continues to take shots at Death and says that it is not something to be afraid of. Poison, war, and sickness are aspects that death is associated with; therefore, it is not worthy of being around anyone or anything else. The speaker then says that

Donne’s poem is written in the traditional 14-line format of a sonnet, “which was the vogue… in England at the end of the sixteenth century” according to authors Kennedy and Gioia in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry , Drama and Writing ( 574). Donne lived from 1572-1631 (Kennedy 744). “The sonnet owes much of its prestige to Petrarch,” (Kennedy 574) an Italian poet. “English poets …(eventually) worked out their own rhyme scheme,” (Kennedy 574) which would explain why this isn’t a true Patrarchan sonnet. Donne’s penned work naturally breaks his thoughts and the poem into three quatrains and a couplet. His thoughts come to a conclusion after lines 4, 8 and 14 with the use of periods, as well as a question mark for line 12, noting the end-stops. The rhyme scheme in American English is abba, abba, cddc ae, but if spoken with an English accent, the final couplet could reasonably be interpreted as aa, which would appear to be more likely.

Donne uses the rhyme scheme that consists of three couplets and one triplet at the end of each stanza. When he starts a new rhyme, it is almost as if the reader gets a new idea or new concept that the speaker has made. Donne has limited himself to only ending each rhyme pattern with a one-syllable word. He also uses iambic tetrameter and iambic pentameter. This tells us that Donne put a certain emphasis on syllables and word placement.

Donne transformed the love poetry he wrote in his early days, beginning in 1617 with the death of his wife Anne More, to religious poetry with a strong sense of awareness of death and its import. This poetic development from classical poetry to more personal poetry reflects the events that marked his own life, and can be traced throughout his poetry. This kind of personal and thereby

“Life, no matter how we choose to look at it, is a constant battle. It is the beginning of a struggle that continues until we breathe our last breath” There are many poems representing death affirms individuality and freedom spirit of poets, poems can let many people experience the scream before the death. “Do Not Go Gentle into the Night,” by Dylan Thomas, “Not Waving but Drowning,” by Steve Smith, and “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Housman all built around the sadness theme----Death

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.

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