The Green caldron - University Library

December, 1961
ON
On "Death"
Tim Flynn
Rhetoric 101, Theme 13
DEATH
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 overthrozv
Die not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me.
From Rest and Sleep, which but thy picture be.
Much pleasure ; then from thee much more must flow;
And soonest our best men zvith thee do go—
Rest of their bones and souls' delivery I
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men.
And dost zvith poison, zvar, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make ns sleep as well
And better than thy stroke. Why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we zvake eternally.
And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die!
ONE'S FIRST READING OF JOHN DONNE'S HOLY SON-
net "Death," the reader is apt to say, "It's different." It is this
difference which serves as the beginning of the poem's originaHty.
Donne's approach to his material takes a point of view which is opposite in
nature to that which is generally held; his opening words deride Death,
maintaining that he is not powerful and ought not to be proud. Instead of
treating his subject with dignity and respect, instead of looking at it from
a distance, Donne is colloquial and direct, as if he were engaging Death in a
very familiar conversation. Such a beginning catches the reader off guard
and, by the surprise of its directness, is an excellent attention-securing device.
After this beginning there are no more stunts ; the poet is in earnest. This
earnestness is essential to the poem's conviction, which, emotionally at least,
convinces the reader.
Superficially, this poem is quite commonplace. It is an assertion of man's
ultimate defeat of Death in immortality. However, there is far more value
in this poem as a work of art than in the mere message, ideas, or thoughts
of the author. It is true that thoughts are proper constituents of the totality
which is a poem. Other things being equal, the more profound the thought,
the greater the poem. By "other things being equal," I simply mean that
thought does not of itself make the poem ;
it is only one element in the ulti-
mate fusion which is poetry, not prose. Often poets are deliberately obscure,
forgetting or ignoring the obligation to be as clear as possible so that com-