Death as a Weak Figure in Donne's Death Be not Proud

John Donne was a leading figure in metaphysical poetry, and this piece is a great example of it. This poem by John Donne conveys the message that death is not what we make it out to be. His poem is based on the premise that we see death as an ominous entity, something to be afraid of. This is evident throughout the ages in our religion and literature, where death is a god and comes to collect souls and take them to the afterlife and authors would write tales about heroes narrowly escaping deaths clutches. However, Donne argues that death is in fact, powerless and not frightening at all. He does this by personifying death as a weak figure and using metaphors to compare it to other things.

I find Donne's use of personification crucial to his argument because by making death seem more human it takes away the sense of divine power it carries. For example, in the poem he states, “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful. . . ”, and “Death, thou shalt die”, these statements personify death as a figure who perceives itself as powerful and terrifying, when in reality that is not true, because the author believes that death cannot kill him but simply deliver pleasurable rest. And although we know that death cannot actually die, what I think the author actually meant was that if we do not hold death in such high regard it will become meaningless. By characterizing death in such a way, he takes away the preconception that death is something to be afraid of.

The use of metaphors in the poem is also vital in developing the author’s argument. For example, in the poem, he states, “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men” here Donne is comparing death to a slave. He makes this comparison by concluding that death simply follows the bidding of fate, chance, or men. And that anyone could take their own life and leave death powerless. To further humiliate death he compares it to rest and sleep as I mentioned before. And if sleep and rest bring comfort to a person than eternal sleep can’t be that bad. Donne later states that “And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well… why swell’st thou then?” He is again belittling death by saying that drugs can also put a man to sleep, so what does death have to be proud of.

Besides the way we should see death, I believe there is another message within the poem, that after death there is eternal life waiting for the good man. I came to conclusion from several pieces of text from the poem, one being, “nor yet canst thou kill me” this statement hints at immortality of sorts. Another being, “And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery”, this suggests that good men don’t have to fear death because they are being freed from their body and delivered to heaven. And finally “one short sleep past, we wake eternally”, this is pretty straightforward, once you die you will enjoy eternal life.

Something interesting I came by during my research was that John Donne suffered from a near-fatal illness, so perhaps this poem was created from his struggle with death. And after coming to terms with his life he experienced an epiphany of sorts and made this poem to share his thoughts. I believe these messages served to reassure readers that death is the gateway to the afterlife and is not something to be afraid of.