DEATH, BE NOT PROUD JOHN DONNE Profile Dimension- Poetry A World of Poetry for CSEC ENGLISH B (WITH V) HOW IS IT EXAMINED? PAPER 2, SECTION B THIS SECTION CONSISTS OF TWO TYPE B QUESTIONS, ONE GENERIC QUESTION ALLOWING CANDIDATES TO USE TWO APPROPRIATE CHOICES FROM THE PRESCRIBED POEMS AND ONE QUESTION BASED ON TWO NAMED POEMS FROM THE PRESCRIBED LIST. TYPE B – QUESTIONS OF COMPARISON THAT REQUIRE KNOWLEDGE AND STUDY OF 20 POEMS AND 10 SHORT STORIES. 35 MARKS TODAY’S AGENDA - Background context to the poem Background to the author Analysis of poem Themes Mood & tone Literary devices VIDEO SUMMARY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6_-C2dcFuc In this poem, the speaker affronts an enemy, Death personified. This enemy is one most fear, but in this sonnet, the speaker essentially tells him off. The way the speaker talks to Death reveals that he is not afraid of Death, and does not think that Death should be so sure of himself and so proud. The confident tone of ‘Death, be not Proud,’ and the direct confrontation of Death provides an ironic sense of comfort to the readers by implicitly suggesting that Death is not to be feared at all, but that in the end, Death will be overcome by something even greater. BACKGROUND “DEATH, BE NOT PROUD,” ALSO REFERRED TO AS SONNET X, IS A FOURTEEN-LINE SONNET WRITTEN BY JOHN DONNE, AN ENGLISH METAPHYSICAL POET, AND CHRISTIAN CLERIC. IT IS ONE OF THE NINETEEN HOLY SONNETS WHICH WERE PUBLISHED IN 1633 WITHIN THE FIRST EDITION OF SONGS AND SONNETS. IT WAS WRITTEN PROBABLY IN 1609 WHEN DONNE WAS WORKING FOR THE ENGLISH CHURCH AS AN ANTI-CATHOLIC ADVOCATE. THIS POEM IS AN ECCLESIASTICAL LYRIC THAT LOOKS AT DEATH IN THE CONTEXT OF JOHN’S RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND SOCIO-POLITICAL SITUATION OF SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND. “DEATH, NOT BE PROUD” IS WRITTEN IN ENGLAND OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. IT WAS THE TIME WHEN THE BRITISH WERE EXPANDING ACROSS THE WORLD. ALSO, IT HAD BEEN A TIME OF GREAT RELIGIOUS TURMOIL. LIFE AT THAT TIME IN ENGLAND WAS UNCERTAIN, VIOLENT, AND UNSTABLE. DONNE WAS LIVING IN THE TIME OF THE ANTI-CATHOLIC ENVIRONMENT. PEOPLE WERE IMPRISONED FOR THEIR CATHOLICISM. THEY WERE KILLED AS WELL. DURING THAT RELIGIOUS TENSION, DONNE CONVERTED FROM CATHOLICISM TO ANGLICANISM. LATER, HE BECAME A CLERIC. HIS RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE AND BELIEFS ARE THE MAIN SUBJECT OF THIS POEM. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO SORTS OF CHRISTIANITY PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN DONNE’S CONSCIENCE. HIS BELIEFS ARE REFLECTED IN “DEATH, BE NOT PROUD.” IT SHOWS THAT HE IS CONFIRMED ABOUT CHOOSING THE PROPER PATH WHICH CAN GRANT ACCESS TO THE AFTERLIFE. THROUGH THIS POEM, HE IS PREACHING HIS IDEAS. THIS POEM SUGGESTS THAT THOSE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT LIVE CONSISTENT WITH CHRISTIAN BELIEFS MUST FACE ETERNAL DAMNATION. ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE, TRUE BELIEVERS ARE NOT SCARED OF GOD AND DEATH. THIS POEM ALLUDES TO THE CHRISTIAN BELIEF THAT DEATH IS A SHORT NAP BEFORE ETERNAL EXISTENCE. DEATH, BE NOT PROUD, THOUGH SOME HAVE CALLED THEE MIGHTY AND DREADFUL, FOR THOU ART NOT SO; THE SPEAKER IMMEDIATELY CREATES A PERSONIFIED VERSION OF DEATH BY TALKING DIRECTLY TO HIM. HE PAINTS A PICTURE OF DEATH AS AN ARROGANT BEING, AND ONE WHO NEEDS TO BE HUMBLED. THE SPEAKER ASSUMES THE POSITION OF THE ONE WHO MUST HUMBLE THIS BEING, DEATH. HE TELLS HIM THAT HE OUGHT NOT TO BE SO PROUD, EVEN THOUGH FOR GENERATIONS PEOPLE HAVE FEARED DEATH AND CALLED HIM “MIGHTY AND DREADFUL”. THE SPEAKER, HOWEVER, WITH A VOICE OF ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY ON THE MATTER, SIMPLY STATES, “THOU ART NOT SO”. THIS POET USES THE LITERARY TACTIC OF “APOSTROPHE” TO DRIVE HOME HIS POINT. APOSTROPHE OCCURS WHEN A WRITER ADDRESSES A SUBJECT WHO CANNOT RESPOND. READERS KNOW IMMEDIATELY THAT THIS SONNET WILL CONSIST OF ONE SPEAKER WHO WILL DO ALL OF THE TALKING AND ACCUSING OF HIS SUBJECT. DEATH, THOUGH ADEQUATELY PERSONIFIED, CANNOT RESPOND TO THE ACCUSATIONS OF THE SPEAKER. FOR THOSE WHOM THOU THINK’ST THOU DOST OVERTHROW DIE NOT, POOR DEATH, NOR YET CANST THOU KILL ME. HERE IN DEATH, BE NOT PROUD, THE SPEAKER ACCUSES THE DEATH OF HAVING ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR. HE CLAIMS THAT WHILE DEATH THINKS THAT HE HAS THE POWER TO KILL, HE ACTUALLY DOES NOT. THE SPEAKER FIRST HUMBLES DEATH BY TELLING HIM THAT HIS IDEA THAT HE HAS THE POWER TO OVERTHROW LIVES IS SIMPLY AN ILLUSION, AND THAT HE HAS NO SUCH POWER AT ALL. THEN, TO FURTHER HUMILIATE DEATH, THE SPEAKER CALLS HIM “POOR DEATH”. IT SOUNDS ALMOST AS IF THE SPEAKER IS MAKING FUN OF DEATH FOR HAVING LIVED UNDER THE ILLUSION THAT HE HAD ANY SORT OF POWER OVER LIFE OR DEATH. THEN, HE ADDRESSES DEATH IN A MORE PERSONAL MANNER, CHALLENGING HIM BY SAYING, “YET CANST THOU KILL ME”. IT SEEMS DANGEROUS FOR ONE TO THREATEN DEATH IN THIS WAY. HOWEVER, KNOWLEDGE OF JOHN DONNE’S BACKGROUND AND IDEOLOGIES CAN GIVE SOME INSIGHT INTO THE SPEAKER’S CONFIDENCE HERE. THOUGH EVERYONE KNOWS THAT PHYSICAL DEATH DOES INDEED OCCUR, THE SPEAKER IS CHALLENGING DEATH IN A DIFFERENT WAY. HE USES THE CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY OF ETERNITY TO TAUNT DEATH BY TELLING HIM, ESSENTIALLY, “EVEN IF YOU TAKE MY MUCH PLEASURE; THEN FROM THEE MUCH MORE MUST FLOW, WITH THESE LINES, THE SPEAKER COMPARES DEATH TO “REST AND SLEEP” AND EVEN USES THE WORD “PLEASURE” TO DESCRIBE HOW ONE SHOULD FEEL ABOUT DEATH. JUST AS A RESTFUL NIGHT OF SLEEP BRINGS PLEASURE, SO SHOULD DEATH. THE SPEAKER IMPLIES THAT SLEEP IS SIMPLY A SMALL GLIMPSE OF DEATH. THUS, THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR IN DEATH, FOR DEATH WILL BRING SOMETHING LIKE A PLEASURABLE SLEEP. REST OF THEIR BONES, AND SOUL’S DELIVERY. HERE IN DEATH, BE NOT PROUD, THE SPEAKER SAYS THAT THE BEST MEN SEEM TO EXPERIENCE DEATH THE SOONEST. WHILE OTHERS HAVE LONG QUESTIONED WHY IT SEEMS AS IF THE BEST PEOPLE DIE SOONEST, THE SPEAKER OFFERS AN ANSWER HERE, SUGGESTING THAT THE BEST AMONG MEN DESERVE TO EXPERIENCE THE PEACEFUL REST OF DEATH SOONER, WITHOUT HAVING TO ENDURE THE AGONIES OF A LONG LIFE ON THE EARTH. THE SPEAKER DESCRIBES DEATH AS “REST OF THEIR BONES” AND “SOUL’S DELIVERY”. BOTH OF THESE DESCRIPTIONS MAKE DEATH SEEM LIKE A WELCOME FRIEND WHO COMES TO GRACIOUSLY OFFER REST AND PEACE AND THE DELIVERANCE OF ONE’S SOUL FROM AN AND DOST WITH POISON, WAR, AND SICKNESS DWELL, HERE, THE SPEAKER TAKES ON A STRONGER TONE AND BEGINS TO TAUNT DEATH WITH MORE FEROCITY THAN HE DID AT FIRST. HERE, HE CALLS DEATH A SLAVE TO “CHANCE, KINGS, AND DESPERATE MEN”. HE TELLS DEATH THAT HE IS NOT MIGHTY AND DREADFUL, BUT RATHER A POOR SLAVE WHO CANNOT EVEN ACT ON HIS OWN BUT IS DRIVEN NOT ONLY BY FATE AND CHANCE, BUT ALSO BY PEOPLE, RICH AND POOR ALIKE”. HE THEN ACCUSES DEATH OF HAVING LOWLY COMPANIONS SUCH AS “POISON, WAR, AND SICKNESS”. HE HAS TAUNTED DEATH, TELLING HIM THAT HE IS NOT TO BE FEARED, BUT RATHER THAT HE IS A SLAVE TO THE WILL OF FATE AND MEN, AND THAT AS A LOWLY SLAVE, HIS COMPANIONS ARE THE EVEN LOWLIER BEINGS SUCH AS SICKNESS AND WAR. THESE ACCUSATIONS SERVE TO ALLOW THE READERS TO FEEL A SENSE OF POWER AND VICTORY OVER DEATH. THE SPEAKER CERTAINLY FEELS AUTHORITY OVER DEATH, AND HE PASSES THIS FEELING ALONG TO HIS READERS WHEN HE PUTS DEATH IN HIS AND POPPY OR CHARMS CAN MAKE US SLEEP AS WELL AND BETTER THAN THY STROKE; WHY SWELL’ST THOU THEN? THE SPEAKER CONTINUES TO TAUNT DEATH, EVEN MORE, SAYING THAT ALL HE BRINGS IS A LITTLE SLEEP, AND HE DOESN’T EVEN DO THAT AS WELL AS SOME OTHER BRINGERS OF REST SUCH AS “POPPY” OR “CHARMS”. THIS COMPARISON FURTHER PORTRAYS DEATH AS SOMETHING NOT ONLY WEAK, BUT EVEN PLEASURABLE. THE SPEAKER QUESTIONS DEATH, ASKING “WHY SWELL’ST THOU THEN?” HE IS ASKING HIM WHY HE IS SO PUFFED UP WITH PRIDE, WHEN HE CANNOT EVEN DO HIS JOB, AS WELL AS OTHERS, CAN. AND DEATH SHALL BE NO MORE; DEATH, THOU SHALT DIE WITH THESE FINAL LINES OF DEATH, BE NOT PROUD, THE SPEAKER REVEALS EXACTLY WHY HE HAS BEEN TAUNTING DEATH SO RELENTLESSLY. ALTHOUGH IT IS OBVIOUS THAT DEATH IS REAL, AND THAT PEOPLE WHO EXPERIENCE DEATH DO NOT COME BACK TO EARTH, THE SPEAKER REVEALS HIS REASONS FOR CLAIMING THAT DEATH IS WEAK AND EASILY OVERCOME. HE CLAIMS THAT DEATH IS ONLY “ONE SHORT SLEEP” AND THAT THOSE WHO EXPERIENCE DEATH “WAKE ETERNALLY”. THEN, HE CLAIMS THAT “DEATH SHALL BE NO MORE”. FINALLY, HE TELLS DEATH, “THOU SHALT DIE”. THE SPEAKER HAS NOT ONLY TOLD DEATH THAT HE HAS NO REAL POWER OVER ANYONE, BUT THAT HE WILL EXPERIENCE THE END OF HIMSELF WHEN ALL WAKE IN DEATH/ MORTALITY RESISTANCE ETERNAL LIFE APPEARANCE VS REALITY ADDRESSING IT DIRECTLY. IT SHOWS THE POWER OF MAN OVER DEATH. THOUGH MAN IS MORTAL, HE IS STILL SUPERIOR TO DEATH. THE POEM DEPICTS THE PICTURE OF DEATH AS POWERLESS AND WEAK. IT NEGATES THE HIGHER STATUS OF DEATH BY COMPARING IT TO REST AND SLEEP. DEATH DOES NOT MAKE AN END TO LIFE BUT IT TRANSFERS SOULS TO THE ETERNAL WORLD. THE POWERLESSNESS OF DEATH IS PROVED IN THE LAST LINES OF THE POEM WHEN THE SPEAKER SAYS THAT IT IS THE DEATH ITSELF THAT DIES. THE SPEAKER ARGUES THAT ALTHOUGH PEOPLE ARE SCARED OF DEATH AND CONSIDER IT MIGHTY, NO ONE REALLY DIES WHEN THEY DIE. THROUGH LOGICAL ARGUMENTS, THE SPEAKER TAKES PITY ON DEATH AND CONSIDERS IT WEAK. HE CONFRONTS DEATH DIRECTLY THAT DEATH CANNOT KILL THE SPEAKER. HE THEN COMPOSES THE POEM AND CONVEYS THE MESSAGE AS A CHALLENGE. THE SPEAKER CALLS REST AND SLEEP THE OTHER PICTURES OF DEATH. HE SAYS THAT PEOPLE FEEL PLEASANT AFTER REST AND SLEEP. THEREFORE, THEY MUST FEEL GOOD AFTER DEATH AS WELL BY TAKING IT AS A SHORT RESTING PHASE. DEATH ONLY KEEPS THE PHYSICAL BODIES OF PEOPLE IN REST AND CARRIES THEIR SOULS TO THE AFTERLIFE. DEATH IS A RESTING ETERNAL LIFE ANOTHER THEME OF THIS POEM IS ETERNAL LIFE AND ITS LIMITLESSNESS. THIS THEME BECOMES OBVIOUS IN THE LAST LINE OF THE POEM. THE SPEAKER SAYS THAT WE WILL WAKE UP FROM SLEEP IN ETERNAL LIFE AND THERE WILL BE NO DEATH THERE. THIS POEM CONFIRMS THE EXISTENCE OF THE AFTERLIFE WHICH IS ETERNAL. ALSO, DEATH DOES NOT MEAN THE END. IT IS A PATH TO ENTER INTO A NEW LIFE. DEATH IS A REBIRTH. BY DECONSTRUCTING THE DREADFUL IDEA OF DEATH, JOHN DONNE REBELS AGAINST DEATH AND GIVES A NEW MEANING TO THE TRADITIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF DEATH. DEATH IS A GIFT FOR US FROM GOD TO GIVE US IMMORTAL LIFE IN HEAVEN. AFTER DEATH, ENTRANCE TO ETERNAL LIFE IS FREEDOM OF SOULS. THEREFORE, DEATH IS A TRANSITORY STAGE TO ENTER INTO AN EVERLASTING LIFE WITH THE PROMISED LANDS OF GOD WHERE ALL SHALL REST IN PEACE. APPEARANCE VS. REALITY DEATH SEEMS MIGHTY AND POWERFUL, BUT IT IS NOT. DEATH BRINGS STILLNESS WHICH SEEMS PERMANENT, BUT THIS IS NOT THE REALITY. DEATH IS ARROGANT BUT IT ALWAYS DEPENDS ON POISON, WAR, ILLNESS OR ANOTHER MISHAP TO DO THE JOB ON ITS BEHALF. IT ALWAYS NEEDS A CRIME PARTNER. IT IS A SLAVE TO FATE, CHANCE, KINGS, AND EVEN HOPELESS MEN. DESPITE ITS FEARFUL IDEA, POPPY AND OTHER CHARMS CAN ALSO CAUSE DEATH LIKE EFFECTS. ACCORDING TO THE SPEAKER’S CHRISTIAN BELIEFS, ON THE FINAL DAY OF JUDGMENT, ALL DEAD PEOPLE WHO EVER LIVED WILL COME BACK TO LIFE. THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH AND THE POWERFULLOOKING DEATH WILL DIE ITSELF. COURAGE ANOTHER THEME OF THIS POEM IS COURAGE. THE SPEAKER SPEAKS WITH COURAGE THROUGHOUT THE POEM. HE OVERCOMES THE FEAR OF DEATH. HE MAKES CONFIDENT STATEMENTS AND CHALLENGES DEATH. IT GIVES THE LESSON OF FACING ADVERSITY WITH GRACE AND COURAGE. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THROUGH COURAGE, ONE CAN AVOID DEATH. IT MEANS THAT THROUGH COURAGE, DEATH CAN NEVER TAKE CONTROL OF ONE’S LIFE. ENCOUNTERING DIFFICULT TIMES TRANSFORMS PEOPLE INTO SOMETHING HIGHER AND MEANINGFUL. MOOD & TONE - Mood: conversational, tense HOW DO YOU FEEL AFTER READING THE POEM? WHAT IS THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE POEM? - Tone: dark, challenging, and mocking HOW DOES THE POET FEEL? WHAT IS THE POET’S ATTITUDE? https://prezi.com/op2thpyae2li/tone -and-mood-in-poetry/ PERSONIFICATION PERSONIFICATION MEANS TO ATTRIBUTE HUMAN QUALITIES TO NONHUMAN THINGS. JOHN DONNE HAS PRESENTED A PERSONIFIED PICTURE OF DEATH THROUGHOUT THE POEM. IT TELLS DEATH NOT TO BE PROUD AND PRIDE IS A HUMAN QUALITY. METAPHOR A METAPHOR IS THE COMPARISON OF TWO DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON. IN THE OPENING LINE, THE SPEAKER SAYS, “DEATH, BE NOT PROUD.” HERE, DEATH IS COMPARED TO AN ARROGANT MAN. SECONDLY, METAPHOR IS USED IN THE NINTH LINE WHERE THE SPEAKER SAYS, “THOU ART SLAVE TO FATE, CHANCE, KINGS, AND DESPERATE MEN.” HERE, THE SPEAKER SAYS THAT DEATH IS NOT INDEPENDENT BUT IT IS A SLAVE TO FATE, CHANCE, KINGS, AND HOPELESS MEN. FATE CONTROLS EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN ONE’S LIFE, INCLUDING DEATH. ADDITIONALLY, CHANCE CONTROLS EVENTS BY MAKING THEM OCCUR FOR NO KNOWN REASON. KINGS ALSO SEND PEOPLE TO WARS OR ORDER THEIR EXECUTION. HOPELESS PEOPLE TAKE RISKS AND COMMIT SUICIDE WHICH ENDS IN THEIR DEATH. ALLITERATION IT IS THE REPETITION OF THE SAME CONSONANT SOUND IN THE SAME LINE SUCH AS THE SOUND OF /TH/ IN “AND BETTER THAN THY STROKE” AND “WHY SWELL’ST THOU THE.” THE SOUND OF /M/ IS ALSO REPEATED IN “THEN FROM THEE MUCH MORE MUST FLOW.” IN THIS WAY, /TH/ SOUND IS REPEATED IN THE FIRST, THIRD, SIXTH, AND TWELFTH LINES. ALSO, /D/ AND /K/ SOUND IS REPEATED IN THE FOURTH LINE AND /W/ SOUND IS REPEATED IN THE THIRTEENTH LINE. APOSTROPHE THIS POEM IS AN ARGUMENT WITH DEATH. THE SPEAKER HAS USED AN APOSTROPHE TO ADDRESS DEATH THROUGHOUT THE POEM. THE FIRST WORD OF THE FIRST LINE USED AN APOSTROPHE TO SET THE CONTEXT FOR THE REST OF THE POEM. THE WORD “DEATH” MAKES IT CLEAR TO WHOM THE POEM IS ADDRESSED. IN THE SAME WAY, THE SPEAKER STOPS ARGUING WITH THE SAME APOSTROPHE IN THE LAST LINE. FIRST, FOURTH, AND FOURTEENTH LINE TURNS DEATH INTO ITS PERSONIFIED VERSION. QUESTIONS?
