Student Question
What message does the poem "Death, be not proud" convey to its readers?
Quick answer:
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 delivered to eternal life with God. Death is actually the thing that dies because once the soul "wake[s] eternally" there will be no more death. In short, Death doesn't actually kill anything.
In this Holy Sonnet, John Donne's message for readers is that death is not an end and not the end; rather, it is one "short sleep," and once that sleep is over, "we wake eternally" and can never die again. It espouses the idea that eternal life awaits us after death, as Donne was a Catholic and even related to the Catholic martyr, Thomas More.
Although he may have later converted to Anglicanism, his Christian beliefs would seem to underwrite the poem's most significant message. He says that though some people think that Death, personified in the poem, is "proud" because no one can escape it, Death, ultimately, cannot truly kill.
Donne says that Death is a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men": it does not decide how and when we die, as those are details determined by other factors, even including ourselves, as "desperate men" can...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
be interpreted as those who take their own lives or who take up arms against another. In short, Death does not deserve to feel so arrogantly or to be so revered by people, and the biggest reason for this is that "Death [...] shalt die" when, after our bodies turns to bones, our souls are delivered to eternal life with God.
What is the message of "Death, be not proud"?
John Donne’s “Death, Be Not Proud” is a sonnet in which the speaker directly addresses death to remove its power. He points out that many of the circumstances that lead to death are in the control of humans, not death itself. “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,/ And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell.” The speaker takes away death’s power by reminding it that some circumstances, such as war or illness, make the decision to take lives. Thus, the speaker takes away any power that death might have. The speaker says that death is quite arrogant but should not be so, since it has no authority.
The speaker continues his rant against death by telling it that “poppy or charms can make us sleep as well/ And better.” Mentioning sleep aids further takes away any power or fear that death might hold over a person. After all, he says, death is like one big sleep, and what’s so scary about sleep? “One short sleep past, we wake eternally/ And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.” The speaker concludes the argument by reminding death that it is merely a temporary condition. After death comes, people experience eternal life and happiness.
Thus, Donne tells his audience not to fear death, as it is a fact of life. He counsels people to remember their religion and, instead of fearing their ultimate end, to embrace it as a pathway to God.