1. The poem as a whole is an extended metaphor towards the idea that death is no more than a short sleep. “From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, (Line 5)” “And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well (Line 11)” “One short sleep past, we wake eternally, and death shall be no more; death, though shalt die (Line 13-14)”. The speaker is afraid that death is it, that there is no afterlife, that it’s only a ‘short sleep’.
John Donne uses personifications to give death human traits. Death is thought to be “mighty and dreadful (Line 2),” but mighty, especially as a connotation, would seem like strong, powerful, or even large – none of these things could really be like death in the literal sense it is used in. The Speaker in the poem addresses Death (Ex: “Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me” Line4) as if it’s a person who is capable of responding. The speaker even talks down to death when he uses the phrase ‘poor death’ – he’s making himself seem like a tough guy because that’s what he needed to feel comfortable.
2. The speaker doesn’t believe that Death should be proud because people believe it to be frightening. The people that Death takes “rest if their bones and soul’s delivery (Line8)” are the best of men that ‘with thee do go’ but only die physically, not spiritually. The Speaker compares death to sleep and rest, and so he tries to make it seem that death is nothing more than sleep. (If you were to make Death a person and Sleep a person, it would mean that Death would basically be an imitator… nothing anyone would ever want to be. The Speaker is trying to make Death feel bad, and prove that it should not be proud). The Speaker even tries to say that flowers and magic could kill people better than Death. Death should not be proud because “short sleep past, we wake eternally” – He tries to say that people live eternally after death. Death doesn’t really do it’s job (I guess) because the Speaker continues to compare it with sleep. Saying that after death, a person wakes makes Death almost unworthy because waking isn’t part of death. However, if waking was to happen, “death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.”
The Speakers arguments are consistent, being that he either tries to upset death by trying to show that it’s worthless, or that he compares death to sleep. It’s logical in the fact that you can tell he’s scared. He tries to reassure himself while making death a person to be able to make Death more uncomfortable than he is. It would be persuasive if it didn’t scream ‘afraid’.
3. The tone of the poem is a man desperately trying to convince himself that there is nothing to fear in death. One of the biggest factories in being able to tell that the tone of the poem is fearful is that the Speaker makes Death a person. He tries to make himself less tense by talking it out to Death. The poem includes fluffy things like sleep, flowers, sprits, charms, and the ‘stroke’ that death could make to make Death to seem less scary.
4. It has an Italian-Petrachan style octave-rhyming scheme - ABBA ABBA and the next two lines are alike with CDDC. The last couplet is somewhat mysterious because it doesn’t really fit into the rhyme scheme like the rest of the poem. The couplet though doesn’t really reinforce the idea of the poem, but it suggests that Death itself is going to die – the poem turns. The turn fits more into the Italian sonnet scheme because the answer to the Speakers problem would be that Death would die in the end.
John Donne uses personifications to give death human traits. Death is thought to be “mighty and dreadful (Line 2),” but mighty, especially as a connotation, would seem like strong, powerful, or even large – none of these things could really be like death in the literal sense it is used in. The Speaker in the poem addresses Death (Ex: “Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me” Line4) as if it’s a person who is capable of responding. The speaker even talks down to death when he uses the phrase ‘poor death’ – he’s making himself seem like a tough guy because that’s what he needed to feel comfortable.
2. The speaker doesn’t believe that Death should be proud because people believe it to be frightening. The people that Death takes “rest if their bones and soul’s delivery (Line8)” are the best of men that ‘with thee do go’ but only die physically, not spiritually. The Speaker compares death to sleep and rest, and so he tries to make it seem that death is nothing more than sleep. (If you were to make Death a person and Sleep a person, it would mean that Death would basically be an imitator… nothing anyone would ever want to be. The Speaker is trying to make Death feel bad, and prove that it should not be proud). The Speaker even tries to say that flowers and magic could kill people better than Death. Death should not be proud because “short sleep past, we wake eternally” – He tries to say that people live eternally after death. Death doesn’t really do it’s job (I guess) because the Speaker continues to compare it with sleep. Saying that after death, a person wakes makes Death almost unworthy because waking isn’t part of death. However, if waking was to happen, “death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.”
The Speakers arguments are consistent, being that he either tries to upset death by trying to show that it’s worthless, or that he compares death to sleep. It’s logical in the fact that you can tell he’s scared. He tries to reassure himself while making death a person to be able to make Death more uncomfortable than he is. It would be persuasive if it didn’t scream ‘afraid’.
3. The tone of the poem is a man desperately trying to convince himself that there is nothing to fear in death. One of the biggest factories in being able to tell that the tone of the poem is fearful is that the Speaker makes Death a person. He tries to make himself less tense by talking it out to Death. The poem includes fluffy things like sleep, flowers, sprits, charms, and the ‘stroke’ that death could make to make Death to seem less scary.
4. It has an Italian-Petrachan style octave-rhyming scheme - ABBA ABBA and the next two lines are alike with CDDC. The last couplet is somewhat mysterious because it doesn’t really fit into the rhyme scheme like the rest of the poem. The couplet though doesn’t really reinforce the idea of the poem, but it suggests that Death itself is going to die – the poem turns. The turn fits more into the Italian sonnet scheme because the answer to the Speakers problem would be that Death would die in the end.
Rori,
ReplyDeleteNice details in these answers. Number 1 and 2 are right on. Nice picking out of extended metaphor, personification, though I wonder how fearful the speaker really is. 3) What makes the tone "desperate"?
Yes you are
Deleteright