Approach to Poem Analysis
John Donne’s poems are known for their startling imagery as the poet has been praised for his playful use of words, including puns and paradoxes, as well as elaborately crafted metaphors. The new criticism approach to literary analysis fits with Donne’s work as it emphasizes the study of literary pieces based on the text alone, including the exploration of themes, structures, and literary devices. The poet prided himself on his wittiness and incorporated different discourses into his work, ranging from law to cosmology.
Theme and Tone
“Holy Sonnet 10” or “Death, not be proud” is a symbolic address to death personified, calling for it not to be arrogant even though most people find it intimidating because of the fear of the unknown. The poem has a somewhat mocking tone as its speaker states that, similar to people, Death is a slave to their fate and has no authority over those who have to face it.
Structure and Scheme
The structure of the sonnet is characterized by the pattern Petrarch that combines an octave and a sestet, while a slight rhyme change occurs in its second part. The rhyme scheme is ABBA ABBA CDD CAA, while it should be noted that the word “die” is intended to be read with a Scottish accent, “dee,” so that there is a rhyme with “thee,” “me,” “we,” and “eternally.”
Message: Undervaluing the Death
The speaker (assuming Donne himself) takes a courageous and defiant tone when addressing Death. He mocks the Grim Reaper by stating that even though many people refer to it as “thee mighty and dreadful,” it is not an all-powering being that should be feared (qtd. in Greenblatt 1633).
The understatements concerning the death of this kind are essential for transferring the tone and the entire message of the poem. Although it is a one-sided conversation and Death cannot answer the speaker, personification is still used throughout the poem to make it appear that it is listening to the mockery and could respond. Besides, the metaphysical fashion of the writing enhances the poet’s wit and helps develop a consistent and systematic argument that strengthens with every stanza.
The helplessness of Death is illustrated in it being controlled by luck or fate. Instead, it is the people who have a say in whether they or others go into eternal sleep. Donne says that Death is “slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell” (qtd. in Greenblatt 1633). The author calls the audience to reconsider the reputation of the Reaper as there is really no reason for it to be proud of itself.
Ultimately, Donne suggests that death is no more than sleep: “One short sleep past, we wake eternally and death shall not be more; Death, thou shalt die” (qtd. in Greenblatt 1633). The final lines of the sonnet strengthen the main idea that there is nothing to be feared about dying and that Death must not be as boastful as it tends to be.
Donne’s endeavor to deflate the ego of death can be construed as a message to people in general—not to dwell upon dying too much and not to be afraid of it. The dramatic ending of the poem suggests that in the end, it is only death that dies while those who were taken by it wake up in heaven, thus overcoming the dreadful finality of a life’s termination.
Work Cited
Greenblatt, Steven. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 10th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.