Savannah Gilman
Mrs. Jernigan
English IV
February 23, 2011
“Death, be not proud” by John Donne
This sonnet follows the Italian/Petrarchan format for the beginning of the rhyme scheme with abba abba cddc, but then it has a twist with a couplet of ef at the finale. Though it deviates, it remains an Italian sonnet variation.
As with Italian sonnets, the first eight lines follow the theme of a presented conflict. The altercation that arises is between the speaker, an arrogant mortal man, and Death. The speaker claims dominance over death itself, renouncing the names of “mighty and dreadful” that others death have given it out of their fear. He boasts that while death may receive the best of men, he is invincible.
However, in the ninth line his tone and message shifts subtly, now referring to death more personally, which is ironic since to ‘know’ death better one must be dead themselves. He taunts death, calling it a slave that begs for crumbs, or souls, from sheer chance and shows that death is in no position of power. The speaker also mocks death because its effects can be experienced through numerous other means such as sleep, drugs, and charms.
In the final lines, he inserts a couplet that within itself does not rhyme. Its oddity emphasizes that death can only claim so many souls before its purpose runs out and it will essentially die as well.