Death Be not proud By John Donne Report
Death, Be not proud By John Donne Report by: Keren Escober, Antoinette Hampton, Wendy Meza, Lizbeth Sanchez, Karla Nolasco, and Dinnet Cruz
Biography • John Donne (1572 -1631) – Born in London – Recusant Roman Catholic family – 3 rd of 6 children • Father: John Donne – Welsh decent and warden of the Ironmongers company in the city of London
Life • High education and literary talents • Spent inherited money on literature, pastimes, and travel • 1601 secretly married a woman named Anne More • 8 th year of being a minister had major illness – Close to typhoid fever – Came close to death
Poet’s Career • English Poet – Pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets – Best know for their strong sensual style and includes sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translation – Characterized by abrupt openings and carious paradoxes, ironies, and dislocation. • Religious Figure – 1615 Anglican priest – 1621 Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral – Member of parliament in 1601 & 1614
Structure • Elizabethan/Shakespearean sonnet form – three quatrains and a concluding couplet • Italian/Petrarchan sonnet – Rhyme Scheme • Different than usual • Usual: ABBA CDECDE or CDCDCD – Meter: Iambic Pentameter • Not followed completely – Tone shift in line 9
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. a b b a 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. a b b a 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? c d d c One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die a a
Personification 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. Apostrophe From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Metaphor Much pleasure- then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Pun Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. Tone Shift Thou'art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, Conceit And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well Metonymy And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? Rhetorical Question Extended Metaphor One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die Paradox
Analysis Death; be not proud, though some have called thee You should not be proud even if some say you are Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so; Not mighty or dreadful For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow You think can kill people Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me. You can’t anyone, in the end we live forever
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Rest and sleep are similar to death, dreams are like pictures of what after death will be like Much pleasure- then from thee much more must flow, Death should be pleasurable And soonest our best men with thee do go, Hardest working and bravest go first Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery. Enjoying death and going into a new eternal life
Thou'art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, Manipulated by these factors Associated with drugs, war, and sickness The feeling that drugs and And poppy or charms can make spells can give us the us sleep as well same death-like feeling And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then? Does death give people as similar feeling drugs do? Yes! Death should’nt swell with pride
One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die After the short death we feel, we are now in a better place than death or life on earth, we live eternal life Death will no longer exist in our lives, it won’t even be in our minds, thus it dies
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