HOLY SONNET 10
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 picture[s] 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’rt 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.
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 picture[s] 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’rt 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.
-John Donne
Death appears to us, personified as a living creature, one that lives among us. The image of Death being enslaved to life eternally seems to be projected in this sonnet. Although we know that death is the last thing for us on this earth, that it ends our life, Death is projected to us as a weaker power than normal. He is a “slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men” (9). Death is only given limited powers. Yet although he can take away those who are close and dear, or brave, according to Donne, Death can no longer touch us after we are dead. For in the afterlife, there is no longer the situation of life or death, but merely heaven or hell. In this sonnet, Death appears to be degraded to a less threatening form. In the normal compositions about death, it is portrayed as dreadfully morbid or greatly feared. Yet this piece stands out because it holds a characteristic that makes death seem not as all-mighty.
In this sonnet Donne delivers the thought of a lighter side to the death of a person. He delivers the ideas that death is merely “one short sleep past, [before] we wake eternally” (13). He plays with the idea that death is just a simple obstacle which one must overcome when they are trying to get to the after-life. Through this sonnet, Donne creates a feeling that death and the after-life is not as confusing and unknown than Death when pondered in relation to existence.
Holy Sonnet 10 reminded me of the soliloquy that Prospero had in the Tempest by William Shakespeare. Through the ideas of “one short sleep” (13), “our little life is rounded with a sleep” seems to, in part summarize the sonnet. Although it does not include the degrading of Death it’s self, it does bring about the concepts that life, on earth, will end with a peaceful sleep before entering the after-life. In turn providing comfort for those who ponder the ideas of what happens after death.
