Donne’s Poem Death Be Not Proud :: Death Be Not Proud Essays

Donnes Poem Death Be Not gallant   In the poem Death Be Not Proud, written by John Donne decease is personified.   The personification of death creates a feeling that death is slight powerful than we think.  Donne creates and image of death that is not mysterious, not in control, and a slave of low status.  He does this by undermining the idea of death as point of accumulation to the rules of fate, chance, kings, and desperate men. He insists that death is no more powerful than any mortal is.   Suggesting that death is not mysterious is the word slave.  Directed to death, thou artifice slave forms an unthreatening stance of death because slaves ar not threatening.  This is due to the connections that go with the word slave.  A slave is bound in submission to a master therefore having no say in what he or she can do.  Death, in being personified into a slave that has many masters, is more highly bound.  This lack of freedom that dea th has in choosing its victims takes away any reason to be fearful of it.  Power comes from being able to control something.  Here death is the one being controlled by other outside forces that have power over how and when death can do its work.   Death casts fear into mortals because it is unknown as to what happens in the afterworld.  This poem creates a sense that we know who death is.  For example we can see how death is a poor beggar on the street.  This would cook up death a non-threatening person.  He is a low class citizen that is just waiting for an opportunity to feast when his master allows.  Donne produces this low-life death figure by associating him with poison, war, and sickness.  These are all things that less fortunate mortals deal with on a daily basis.  These are dreadful things that are not good.  Death personified is subject to these horrible great deal therefore is very low in stature.  If death can only reap hi s vengeance with such low standards governing him, then death is as low as what he works for. Death becomes less mysterious and something which we are not afraid of.