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A famous poem that challenges death as a mighty and dreadful power. The speaker declares that death cannot kill him, and that death itself will die one day.
“Holy Sonnet 10,” often referred to by its opening line (“Death, be not proud”), was written by the English poet and Christian cleric John Donne in 1609 and first published in 1633. The poem is a direct address to death, arguing that it is powerless because it acts merely as a “short sleep” between earthly living and the eternal ...
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In ‘Death, be not proud,’ the speaker directly addresses death using the personal pronoun “you” throughout the poem. Initially, he tells death not to be proud, refuting its perceived power and fearfulness. Some people might think it is mighty and fearful, but it isn’t. He asserts that those whom death believes it has overthrown have not truly died ...
‘Death, be not proud‘ is a sonnet that blends elements of both the Petrarchan and English sonnet forms. The poem begins with an octave (ABBA ABBA) that presents an argument against death’s power, followed by a sestet (CDDCEE) that intensifies the argument and concludes with a forceful couplet. The subtle volta occurs at line 9, where the rhyme sche...
Lines 1-2
The speaker immediately creates a personified version of death by talking directly to it. 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 it that it ought not to be so proud, even though for generations, people have feared death and called it “mighty and dreadful.” The speaker, however, with a voice of absolute authority on the matter, simply states, “thou art not so”. T...
Lines 3-4
Here in ‘Death, be not Proud‘, the speaker accuses the death of having illusions of grandeur. He claims that while death thinksthat it has the power to kill, it actually does not. The speaker first humbles death by telling it that the idea that it has the power to overthrow lives is simply an illusionand that it has no such power at all. Then, to further humiliate death, the speaker calls it “poor Death”. It sounds almost as if the speaker is making fun of death for having lived under the ill...
Lines 5-6
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.
Learn about the meaning, themes, and historical context of Donne's famous sonnet that challenges death as a personified enemy. Explore the poem's structure, form, and literary devices, and get tips for reading and understanding it.
A famous sonnet by John Donne that argues against the power of death and predicts its end. Learn about the poem's context, structure, rhyme scheme, sources, and influence on other works.
A famous poem by John Donne that challenges death and declares its powerlessness over the soul. Read the full text, analysis, and context of this sonnet on the Academy of American Poets website.
Learn about John Donne's famous poem that challenges death's power and celebrates immortality. Read the full text, analysis, and context of this devotional lyric from Britannica's editors.
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“Death, be not proud” is the tenth poem in a series of Holy Sonnets John Donne wrote about faith and God. The speaker directly addresses the personified figure of Death, which he proceeds to...
