Death, Be Not Proud- Questions 2 & 3

    John Donne writes in "Death, be not proud" saying that death should not be proud because it is not awful and dreadful. Death, according to the author is not capable of killing. This type of language is hard to imagine. The most contradictory line in the entire poem comes near the end, "Death, thou shalt die." (Donne, Line 14). I feel like the author is trying to deeply convey that death can be a blessing in disguise. This is especially true as it mentions the waking eternally which implies that there is something to look forward to beyond our years. We can dread the future knowing that we are not immortal, or instead we can accept it, embrace it, and move forward with it. 

    The author's reasons are incredibly persuasive because instead of ending with a line where a lot of negative images can be formed, instead, the last four lines provide hope in the shadows of the darkness of death. However, the arguments are not consistent because in line 10, the author mentions death from poison, war, and sickness which are evil ways to die, while in the next line, the author says that poppies and charms can be the peaceful cause of death. The tone of the poem is also evident as faithful. The author strongly believes that death is more of an obstacle in life, not something to be feared- "a short sleep" he calls it.