Death, be not proud (BA)

Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud

BY JOHN DONNE

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.

Death be not proud is a 10th Holy sonnet by John Donne. He tries to nullify the fear of death in the present sonnet. The poem is addressed by the poet to death itself. The poet tells death not to be proud because death has nothing with it to be proud. Of course some people described death as very powerful and dangerous but in reality death is neither powerful nor dangerous.The poet mentions that death has no capacity to kill him. If the poet has to draw a picture of death, he will draw the picture of a person enjoying rest and sleeper. The means death gives rest and sleep to us and so we have to derive pleasure out of it and not pain.

The poet mentions that even the best of people have gone with the soonest. so there is no reason for anybody to be afraid of death. The poet considers death a slave of Fate, chance, king and people in distress. When fate or chance decides to kill someone, death has to come. When king declares death panelty, death has to kill himself, death has t come. This is how death is a slave of four elements.

According to the poet, there are three dwelling places of death. They are : poison, war, and sickness. Death is bound to be there where these three elements are present. The poet is of the the opinion that mother's charm causes sleep to us in a better way than the way death causes sleep simply with one stroke. So there is no need for death to be proud. If death is accepted in this manner than death would be no more. Death itself would die.