— John Donne

Death, be not Proud (Holy

Sonnet 10) by John Donne
‘Death, be not Proud’ by John Donne is
one of the poet’s best poems about
death. It tells the listener not to fear
Death as he keeps morally corrupt
company and only leads to Heaven.

In this poem, the speaker affronts an enemy,

Death personified. This enemy is one most
fear, but in this sonnet, the speaker essentially
tells him off. The way the speaker talks to
Death reveals that he is not afraid of Death,
and does not think that Death should be so
sure of himself and so proud. The confident
tone of ‘Death, be not Proud,’ and the direct
confrontation of Death provides an ironic
sense of comfort to the readers by implicitly
suggesting that Death is not to be feared at
all, but that in the end, Death will be overcome
by something even greater.

DESPLÁSE PARA VER LA INFORMACIÓN DE SEGURIDAD IMPORTANTE

INFORMACIÓN DE SEGURIDAD IMPORTANTE

·antecedentes ™
Prevnar 20 está contraindicada para personas con
de reacción alérgica grave a algún
componente de Prevnar 20 o a la vacuna antidiftérica

·Los adultos con sistemas inmunitarios debilitados podrían

Consulte la Información de Prescripción completa aquí.

00:00 / 01:07

Death, be not Proud (Holy

Sonnet 10) Analysis
Lines 1-2

“ Death, be not proud, though some

have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art

not so;

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.

Lines 3-4

“ For those whom thou think’st thou

dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst

thou kill me.

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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.”

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Lines 5-6

“ From rest and sleep, which but thy

pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee

much more must flow,

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.

Lines 7-8

“ And soonest our best men with thee

do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul’s

delivery.

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.

Lines 9-10

“ Thou art slave to fate, chance,

kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and

sickness dwell,

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.

Lines 11-12

“ And poppy or charms can make us

sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why

swell’st thou then?

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.

Lines 13-14

“ One short sleep past, we wake

eternally

And death shall be no more; Death,

thou shalt die

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.

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Home » John Donne » Death, be not Proud

(Holy Sonnet 10)

About Allisa
Corfman
Allisa graduated
with a degree in
Secondary
Education and English and taught
World Literature and Composition at
the high school level. She has
always enjoyed writing, reading, and
analysing literature.

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11 COMMENTS

Newest

Miss T
THANK YOU SO MUCH
Very helpful. Just a little feedback, do not use a word
to explain the word.

eg. Just as a restful night of sleep brings pleasure, so

should death. The speaker implies that sleep is simply
a small glimpse of Death.

Don’t use pleasure in your explanation if it is a direct

quote from the poem <3

2 Reply

Editor

Lee-James Bovey
Reply to  Miss T

ahh – I see how that might be a tad confusing. Thank

you for the suggestion.

0 Reply

Taseen Alam
Nice not bad analysis

1 Reply

Editor

Lee-James Bovey
Reply to  Taseen Alam

Thank you.

0 Reply

Peter Asiakawen
Incredible

0 Reply

Editor

Lee-James Bovey
Reply to  Peter Asiakawen

Thanks!

0 Reply

Anonymous
Thanks loads for this. I was assigned to read this in
class in this analysis has made my life easier ten fold

1 Reply

Editor

Lee-James Bovey
Reply to  Anonymous

Awesome! I find that having a rough idea what a

poem is about before trying to deal with it is always
helpful.

0 Reply

Glenn Dowling
Not being that familiar with John Donne, I wonder at
his boldness toward death without referencing
Christ’s victory over death.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the
former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4

“So when this corruptible shall have put on

incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying