Analysis of Death Be Not Proud
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
Scheme | ABCAACCCDEEDAF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111111 100111111 1111111110 1111111111 1101111101 1101111111 01010111111 1111011 11111110101 01111011 0111111111 01011111111 1111110100 0111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 687 |
Words | 125 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 533 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 123 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 28, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 1,374 Views
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"Death Be Not Proud" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22472/death-be-not-proud>.
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