Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
This sonnet by John Donne questions the strength and the power of Death itself. Death, being a powerful part of life, ruled by fate and feared by many, is characterised merely as a slave as stated: "Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;". Death does not rule by itself, in fact, Death is called upon by kings who imprison men for their "sins". It is also called upon by desperate men such as people who want to commit suicide to end their lives and be at peace. Death is also characterised to be sick as it dwells with war, sickness and poison. The speaker of the sonnet boldly challenges Death and states that it itself shall die. If kings and desperate people do not summon death, death itself shall be no more.
Usually, when reading a poem about death, it is quite depressing, however, the sonnet is quite strong in the sense that it shows us that Death is not something to be afraid of. It is as though John Donne has written this sonnet to convince people that Death is not as powerful as we think it is. If sickness does not reach us, or if we don't come across war and poison, we will not die. Of course, we know very well that death does no always come by due to these circumstances and can easily take away a life due to natural causes. Seeing this, the meaning of Death put forward by this poem is meaningless.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Sonnet 75 from the Faerie Queene
One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washèd it away;
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
"Vain man," said she, "that dost in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalize!
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eke my name be wipèd out likewise."
"Not so," quod I, "let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name;
Where, whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.
This sonnet is one that sounds very beautiful when read out loud. The words make it sound like a very soft and calm poem and gives implies love to be a central subject. Amongst the three sonnets this one popped out and caught my eye.
The subject matter is about a man, a lover, who attempts to write a woman's name (Queen Elizabeth?) on the beach multiple times to preserve it. However, the waves constantly come in and wash away his attempts. The woman, who now seems tense criticizes the man since he is unable to preserve the name on the beach and seems to declare that if her name keeps getting washed away, then she too will be wiped out one day. The man denies this and states that even if such unmeaning-full things get erased, the woman will surely live on. Even if death does take her, she will be remembered forever and her name shall live on in heaven. Moreover, he declares that their love shall live on forever despite the various obstacles.
The rhyme scheme in the poem and the word choice enhances the overall sound of the poem and aids in understanding it. Though there is tension within the poem, the overall feeling is quite subtle and makes a strong point: Even if concrete objects get wiped out and eliminated, if there is true love, it will never fade away and will never be forgotten.
But came the waves and washèd it away;
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
"Vain man," said she, "that dost in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalize!
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eke my name be wipèd out likewise."
"Not so," quod I, "let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name;
Where, whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.
This sonnet is one that sounds very beautiful when read out loud. The words make it sound like a very soft and calm poem and gives implies love to be a central subject. Amongst the three sonnets this one popped out and caught my eye.
The subject matter is about a man, a lover, who attempts to write a woman's name (Queen Elizabeth?) on the beach multiple times to preserve it. However, the waves constantly come in and wash away his attempts. The woman, who now seems tense criticizes the man since he is unable to preserve the name on the beach and seems to declare that if her name keeps getting washed away, then she too will be wiped out one day. The man denies this and states that even if such unmeaning-full things get erased, the woman will surely live on. Even if death does take her, she will be remembered forever and her name shall live on in heaven. Moreover, he declares that their love shall live on forever despite the various obstacles.
The rhyme scheme in the poem and the word choice enhances the overall sound of the poem and aids in understanding it. Though there is tension within the poem, the overall feeling is quite subtle and makes a strong point: Even if concrete objects get wiped out and eliminated, if there is true love, it will never fade away and will never be forgotten.
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
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