Holy Sonnet 10: "Death be not proud"

Question 1

Overview:

Answer 1

The sonnet forms an apostrophe to Death as the speaker tells death that their hubris is misplaced and attempts to belittle the power that death has. The volta of the poem changes the tone of the poem from attacking death to reducing the power of death by recognising that humans have eternal life in heaven where death is unable to reach them.

Question 2

Context:

Answer 2

• metaphysical poetry - unlikely comparison of ideas.

Question 3

“Death be not proud”

Answer 3

• Apostrophe to God.
• Metaphysical and arresting opening.
• the imperative is assertive.
• Sets up the poems intention of undermining and squaring up to death.

Question 4

“From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be”.

Answer 4

• context, renaissance idea of sleep as being an image of death.
• recurring idea that death, like sleep is only temporary - it actually serves to revitalise the person.

Question 5

“thou art slave to fate, chase, kings and desperate men”.

Answer 5

• Shift of argument.
• Condemns to arbitrary power of death - suggests that people also have agency over death.
• Aysndetic listing - serves to undermine the power of death.

Question 6

“and death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die”.

Answer 6

• Adresses death indirectly and then directly.
• deliberately jibing and belittling.
• Reversing the roles, Donne is the one condemning death to death..