Analysis of Holy Sonnet X:Death be not proud
John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)
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.
Scheme | ABBAABBACDDCAE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111111 1001011111 1111111110 1111111111 1101111101 1101111111 01010111111 1111010100 11111110101 0111010101 01011111111 01011111111 1111110100 0111111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 663 |
Words | 125 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
Lines Amount | 14 |
Letters per line (avg) | 37 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 514 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 123 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 103 Views
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"Holy Sonnet X:Death be not proud" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/22522/holy-sonnet-x%3Adeath-be-not-proud>.
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