Death be not proud by John Donne ppt.pptx

Its a popular sonnet written by John Donne which is full of paradox about the fearful nature of death.

1. Full Explanation

2. John Donne

3. John Donne was born into a Roman Catholic family on the 22 nd  of  January  in 1572 in  London , United Kingdom .  Despite facing challenges and grave losses in life, Donne added more variety to the world of literature with his mature intellectual ideas. However, his works were not published and acknowledged during his lifetime. Instead , his highly intellectualized pieces were considered crude. However, after his death, he was termed a pioneer of the metaphysical school of thought . His poetry is marked by subtlety and complexity of thought, excessive use of  paradoxes , distorted  imagery , and bold  conceits . Also , he is famous for using harsh  tone  and rigid expression in his writings.  The recurring  themes  in most of his poems stand religion, fidelity, the interconnectedness of humanity death, separation, and self-love.

4. BACKGROUND OF THE POEM “ 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 sonnet that looks at death in the context of John’s religious beliefs and socio-political situation of seventeenth-century England. 

5. DEATH BE NOT PROUD SUMMARY The speaker personifies and addresses Death directly. He tells Death not to be arrogant and proud of snatching people’s lives away. He converses with Death that just because people are scared of Death and find it powerful and monstrous, it shouldn’t be proud. He tells Death that it is not as people perceive it because people do not die when it comes to killing them. The speaker pities Death and says that even the speaker will not truly die when Death will arrive for him . The speaker compares Death to rest and sleep. He calls them the other images of Death. He predicts Death to be more pleasant and delightful than rest and sleep. The speaker calls those people “best men” who are taken away by Death. The reason for this is because Death is nothing more but a means of the resting of these bodies and the transformation of their souls to the eternal world . Death is a submissive activity to luck and fate. It is obedient to kings, rulers, and those people who act in despair. The speaker also mentions that Death is linked to toxins, battles, and illness. Intoxicants and magic spells work more effectively than Death by putting people to rest. The speaker then asks Death that after knowing all this, why is it still so full of pride? Next, the speaker says that Death is just a short sleeping phase between the temporary world and the eternal afterlife. There in the eternal world, Death visits no more. It is the Death itself or a certain scary idea of Death that is going to die.

6. LINES 1-2: Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; The speaker creates a personified version of Death and starts a direct conversation. He presents a strong image of Death and tells it to not be pleased with itself. It tells Death that although people call it powerful and are afraid of it, it is not like this in real life. The speaker acquires a tone of complete superiority over Death. By saying “thou art not so”, the speaker uses “apostrophe” by calling a subject who cannot respond at the moment. By using this apostrophe, readers know that there will be only one speaker throughout the poem who will define the characters of others.  Death, though personified, cannot respond to the accusations made by the speaker to defend itself . 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.

7. LINES 3-4 For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me . The speaker tells Death its reality. Death considers itself grandeur because it thinks it has the power of taking people’s life away. The speaker says that it is not the truth because Death has no such power. He further degrades Death by calling it “poor Death.” He makes fun of Death for living under the misconception of its powers for so long. Next, the speaker challenges Death by saying that it cannot kill the speaker. He is not afraid of threatening Death because Death is powerless. Here, the speaker speaks with confidence. The speaker uses Christian belief in eternity to taunt Death. It means that if Death takes the physical body, it can still not kill the soul . 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 physical body, you can never truly kill me.”

8. LINES 5-6 From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasures; then from thee much more must flow , In these lines, the speaker compares Death to “rest and sleep.” He uses the word “pleasure” to describe how one should feel when Death arrives. People get relieved after a good sleep, so Death should have the same effects. The speaker states that Death is a short sleeping phase; therefore, one must enjoy Death as asleep. Death must be as pleasurable as rest and sleep . 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.

9. LINES 7-8 And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery . Here, the speaker states that the best men will experience Death soon. Before questioning the speaker why do best men die soon, he provides an immediate answer himself. Best men deserve Death sooner to get a peaceful eternal life without bearing the hardships of the earthly world. Death is described here as “rest of bones” and a means of “soul’s delivery” to the next world. For this reason, Death must be welcomed because it brings peace and comfort . 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 earthly body where pain and suffering abide.  

10. LINES 9-10 Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell The speaker adopts a stronger tone here and humiliates Death more than he did before. He says that Death is inferior to luck and fate. It is also a poor submissive slave who is driven by rich people and rulers. Death has linked poison, war, and illness to itself. It cannot work alone. It always depends on other things to perform its job of killing. Its companions are lower beings.  This revelation of truth regarding Death gives readers a sense of victory. The speaker himself feels superior to Death and he passes on these feelings to readers also . 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 place by talking down to him.

11. LINES 11-12 And poppy and charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke; why swell’ st thou then? The speaker talks to Death even more boldly. He says that poppy and charms also bring rest. This comparison makes Death not only weak but enjoyable as well. After showing Death its real face, the speaker asks Death why it is still so full of pride . 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.  

12. LINES 13-14 One short sleep past, we wake eternally And death shall be no more; Death, thou shall die In these last lines, the speaker finally reveals why he is constantly humiliating Death. Those people who die never come back to earth. It does not mean that Death is mighty. Death is still powerless because it is one short sleep. Dead people will wake up in an eternal world. There will be no more Death. The Day of Judgment will announce the death of Death. The speaker reminds Death that it is not only weak, but it will face an end of itself as well.   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 eternity and death will be no more.

13. STYLE “Death, be not Proud” is a Petrarchan sonnet in the rhyming scheme. It is written in iambic pentameter. The thematic organization of this sonnet has two well-developed movements in the (eight-line) octave and (six-line) sestet. Its structure resembles Shakespearean sonnet, also called English sonnet, with four short movements. In this way, it has three quatrains and an ending couplet . The octave follows the traditional Petrarchan rhyme of abbaabba . The rhyming scheme of the sestet is cddcee . The octave can be divided into two separate quatrains. The first quatrain treats Death as less powerful than people think. The second quatrain argues that Death is not horrible but it is as pleasurable as sleep. The sestet can also be divided into one quatrain and a concluding couplet. The quatrain of the sestet continues to belittle Death, while the couplet announces the end of the Death .

14. THEMES IN THE POEM 1. DEATH IS POWERLESS: The speaker in the poem starts his conversation with Death by 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 phase between the temporary life on earth and the timeless and limitless afterworld .

15. To describe Death’s powerlessness more, the speaker calls Death a slave to earthly kings. Death is linked with fate, chances, kings, poison, wars, and sickness. It relies on worldly things for its existence. It needs partners because it cannot cease the lives of people alone. Death is not a master, but a slave. Death is even inferior to poppy and other charms . Although Death is terrible and omnipotent, it will still face its death. The inflated idea of its high and frightening stature is nothing but a misconception. Whichever way it is looked at, Death is inferior to everything. The speaker asks Death that after knowing all this, why and what it is proud of? Death is not something to be scared of. It has only one function of carrying souls to the place where they meant to be.

16. 2.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.

17. 3.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 powerful-looking Death will die itself.

18. 4.MORTALITY VS. IMMORTALITY: Death is due and every single body has to taste it. Everyone is bound to die and this causes fear of death in humans. People always look at death as an end. The speaker in the poem looks at death with a positive approach. Humans have immortal souls living in mortal bodies. Death takes humans from their mortal and temporary world to an immortal status The fear of death rises from one’s attachment to one’s self, relations, material possessions, and ignorance about what will happen after death. Death is just punctuation in our long story of struggles. This far-sighted outlook towards death gives immense possibilities of making good of one’s life without any insecurity about death.

19. SYMBOLS 1.SLEEP: In his argument against the power of Death, the speaker constantly refers to sleep and rest. He compares Death to sleep and rest. Sleep is the symbol of Death itself. When people are asleep, they are unconscious and have lost their interaction with the world and other people. While asleep, people seem like they are dead. For this reason, sleep is a relief for the mind and body that everybody needs . The speaker uses the symbol of sleep for two main reasons. Firstly, if Death is like sleep, people should not be afraid of it anymore. In this way, people must look forward to Death without getting frightened of it. Secondly, sleep is not permanent; therefore, Death is also not the end of life. It is nothing more than a transitory stage from a temporary earthy world to the permanent afterworld. Sleep is the symbol of the harmlessness of Death. 2.BONES: The speaker considers Death a rest for bones. The bones represent the physical shape of the body. It also shows that these bones are meant to decay because humans are mortal. The whole poem teaches the division between body and soul. The bones represent the body which does not last for long. On the opposite side, the soul lives forever. People leave their bones behind before going to the eternal world. 3.SLAVERY: The speaker degrades the fearsome image of Death in all ways. He says that Death is a slave to fate, chances, kings, and desperate men. The slavery symbolizes the powerlessness and fake pride of Death. Death always needs a partner to implicate death. It is always dependent on toxins, battles, and illness to kill someone.

20. LITERARY DEVICES 1.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 . 2.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. 

21. Thank You….