Death, be not proud

by John Donne

Start Free Trial

Death, be not proud Questions and Answers

Death, be not proud Study Tools

Take a quiz Ask a question Start an essay

Death, be not proud

Some of the figures of speech in "Death, Be Not Proud" include apostrophe, allusion, paradox, and caesura. Together, these devices create a belittling tone toward death and ultimate hope in an...

5 educator answers

Death, be not proud

The message for readers in "Death, be not proud" is that death is not actually the end of life; it is, rather, a "short sleep" that punctuates the end of one's earthly life before one's soul is...

2 educator answers

Death, be not proud

The poem "Death Be Not Proud" personifies Death, reducing its power and terror. The modern translation suggests that Death is not as powerful as perceived; people you 'defeat' don't truly die and...

5 educator answers

Death, be not proud

"Death, be not proud" is primarily a metaphysical poem because it meditates on the relationship between the body and soul and asserts that death is defeated in the afterlife.

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

"Death Be Not Proud" by John Donne challenges the power and permanence of death. Donne personifies death, portraying it as powerless and not to be feared. He argues that death is merely a transition...

11 educator answers

Death, be not proud

In "Death, be not proud," paradox and personification emphasize victory over death by presenting death as both temporary and conquerable. The paradox that death itself will die suggests the triumph...

2 educator answers

Death, be not proud

In "Death, be not Proud," Donne creates an effective argument against Death as he looks at it from the perspective of his Christian beliefs. According to the Bible, Death has no power over a...

2 educator answers

Death, be not proud

In "Death, be not proud" by John Donne, Death is personified and portrayed as arrogant. Donne diminishes Death's power by addressing it directly and mocking its pride, emphasizing that Death is not...

3 educator answers

Death, be not proud

The speaker describes Death's arrogance and powerlessness throughout the poem, and so the question "why swell'st thou then?" refers to Death's unwarranted pride. Essentially, Death has no real power...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

The paradox in the final lines of John Donne's "Death, be not proud" is that Death, which seems powerful, is ultimately powerless. Donne asserts that Death cannot truly kill anyone, as the soul is...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

The rhyme scheme of John Donne's "Death, be not proud" is primarily Petrarchan with deviations that emphasize the poem’s themes. The first stanza follows an ABBAABBA pattern, typical of Petrarchan...

2 educator answers

Death, be not proud

In the poem, John Donne compares death to "rest and sleep" and a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men." These metaphors aim to diminish the fear of death by presenting it as something...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

Line 9 of "Death, be not proud" shifts the tone to one of impatience and urgency. The change in sentence structure and the use of short, list-like words emphasize Death's subservience, contrasting...

2 educator answers

Death, be not proud

The poem "Death, be not proud" explores the theme of death's powerlessness, using irony to diminish its feared status. Donne addresses death as a person, reducing its grandeur and presenting it as a...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

The tone of "Death Be Not Proud" evolves from a confrontational and mocking stance to a triumphant declaration. Initially, Donne challenges and belittles Death, portraying it as powerless and...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

In "Death Be Not Proud," Donne uses the line "From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be" to diminish Death's power by equating it to sleep, a state most people find pleasurable. This metaphor...

2 educator answers

Death, be not proud

In "Death, Be Not Proud," the poet John Donne implies that death is powerless by associating it with poison, war, and sickness, which are merely causes of death like sleep causes rest. Donne...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

"Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and "Death, be not proud" by John Donne both contemplate death, but with differing perspectives. Donne's poem, part of his "Holy Sonnets," presents death...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

The poem "Death, be not proud" is a sonnet consisting of two stanzas. The first stanza is an octave of eight lines, following a traditional Petrarchan rhyme scheme, while the second stanza is a...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

John Donne employs several literary techniques in his sonnet "Death, be not proud," including apostrophe, personification, and irony by addressing death directly. He uses an Elizabethan sonnet form...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

In John Donne's "Death, be not proud," "eternity" refers to the immortality of the soul, emphasizing that death's power is temporary and illusory. Donne, writing as a knowledgeable cleric, suggests...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

The poet in "Death, Be Not Proud" is not concerned about mortality. John Donne, being a devout Anglican minister, felt secure in his eternal soul and confident in God's power over death. Despite...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

In "Death, be not proud," John Donne uses sound devices like rhyme, alliteration, and assonance to emphasize the poem's themes. The ABBA rhyme scheme in the octave creates a measured tone, while the...

2 educator answers

Death, be not proud

In "Death, be not proud," the octave presents the problem of Death's perceived power and tyranny, as it takes away the best people. The sestet offers a solution by asserting that Death is merely a...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

The speaker views death as neither powerful nor fearsome, presenting it as a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men." Death merely induces sleep, from which humans awaken to eternal life,...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

The ending couplet of John Donne's "Death, be not proud" likely rhymed in Donne's time, with "eternally" and "die" pronounced similarly. Donne, a contemporary of Shakespeare, often used rhyming...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

"Death, be not proud" by John Donne was likely written between February and August 1609, possibly inspired by a serious illness Donne experienced. Although it was not published during his lifetime,...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

In modern English, these lines from John Donne's "Death Be Not Proud" suggest that death is merely a servant to fate, luck, rulers, and desperate individuals, residing alongside poison, war, and...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

In "Death, Be Not Proud," John Donne's audience is the personified Death itself. The poem challenges Death's perceived power, suggesting that it is neither "mighty" nor "dreadful" because those it...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

"Death Be Not Proud" by John Gunther is a memoir recounting his son Johnny's battle with a brain tumor and his eventual death at 17. The story highlights Johnny's resilience, his academic...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

In the poem "Death, be not proud," the rhythm is primarily iambic pentameter, meaning each line generally consists of five metrical feet, each with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one....

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

"Death, be not proud" by John Donne is a sonnet that addresses the fear of death and the hope for eternal life. The poem opens with the speaker challenging Death's power, asserting it is neither...

1 educator answer

Death, be not proud

The sleep metaphor in "Death, be not proud" supports the central idea that death is merely a temporary state, similar to sleep, rather than a final end. By equating death with sleep, the speaker...

1 educator answer