One Great Poet Describes Another: The Wisdom of Wordsworth Applied to the Work of Donne

William Wordsworth, another of our poetic sages, and himself a poet of great merit, has given us his own definition of the art.  He has stated that "...all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings...(in) a man who (has) thought long and deeply..."  The definition is itself a powerful one, emanating from a man whose wisdom can, like the jeweler's lens, enable us to see with greater clarity some of the brilliant facets of this gem called poetry.

 

Through this inspired poet's "lens," we will examine "Death Be Not Proud," by John Donne, a poem which, as we will shortly see, is rife with powerful feelings of the sort to which Wordsworth refers.  We shall see, as well, that Donne embodies Wordsworth's idea of the writer of good poetry, being a man who has clearly thought long and deeply about the subject of his poem, and just as obviously, felt it powerfully.

 

The opening lines of Donne's stirring sonnet exude a bold fearlessness and an air of superiority turned momentarily to pity--or perhaps more likely expressed through sarcasm ("poor Death"-line 4)--over the unenviable predicament of his supposedly strong and fearsome foe.

 

    1 Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

    2 Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

    3 For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

    4 Die not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou kill me.

 

There is also a certain righteous indignation in Donne's desire to expose Death as falling far short of its fearful reputation.  His boldness progresses to sheer audacity in line 3 with the implication that Death is, in fact, suffering from self-delusion in thinking it has the upper hand, and line 4 with his assertion that Death's victims do not really die, emphasizing his strong conviction that this is so by subjectifying and restating it--thereby making it a personal challenge--at the end of line 4.

 

In the next four lines, Donne moves from a calm, detached logic to triumphant confidence, as he weighs Death against its symbols of rest and sleep, portraying that state as one of rest for the body and deliverance for the soul.

 

    5 From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

    6 Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow;

    7 And soonest our best men with thee do go--

    8 Rest of their bones and souls' delivery!

 

In this portion of Donne's monologue to Death, he advances a cleverly-thought-out argument.  From the premise that rest and sleep, which are merely symbols of death, bring such pleasure, he proceeds smoothly to his bold conclusion that therefore death itself must bring even greater pleasure.  One senses here that he is sarcastically deriding Death and denying its negative impact on humanity.

 

His argument doesn't stop there, however; though it is at this point that it picks up its triumphant tone.  In lines 7 and 8, he strengthens his case for the desirability of death by presenting the evidence that the world's best die soonest, and when they do, they receive the double reward of rest and deliverance.  Donne's use of an exclamation point at the end of line 8 indicates that he considers the final exit of these individuals from this life a victorious one.  The emphatic nature of this line is also intended as a major blow to Death's "ego"--almost as if Donne were saying, "So, there!"

 

In lines 9 through 12, Donne grows even more critical of and condescending toward the target of his diatribe and makes no attempt to disguise his disdain at its "impressive" list of shortcomings.

 

    9 Thou'rt slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

   10 And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;

   11 And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

   12 And better than thy stroke.  Why swell'st thou then?

 

Line 9 virtually drips with venom.  In fact, Donne fairly spits the accusation at his silent foe, leaving an indelible impression, by the end of the line, that to be the slave of desperate men is to sink to depths heretofore unplumbed.  In line 10, he disdainfully adds to Death's list of transgressions its nasty habit of keeping the most loathsome company; then in lines 11-12, he proceeds to put Death neatly in its place by reminding it that there are other, equally effective--nay, more effective--means of attaining sleep than it can provide and asking incredulously how Death--in light of this glaring weakness--can possibly be swollen with pride.

 

In the poem's final two lines, Donne not only seals Death's doom, but with a fine touch of Biblical irony--linking the death of Death with man's resurrection--he informs Death, in no uncertain terms, that it will ultimately suffer the very fate it has unsuccessfully attempted to bring upon mankind.

 

   13 One short sleep past, we wake eternally,

   14 And Death shall be no more:  Death, thou shalt die.

 

Donne's extreme audacity in pronouncing the sentence of death upon Death grew from his profound faith in a God whose Word, the Bible, assures every believer that, at the moment of man's resurrection, death will be "swallowed up in victory," (I Corinthians 15:54.)*  The boldly confident and highly confrontational tone of Donne's poem, in fact, echoes that of the next verse in this Biblical passage, which pointedly demands, "O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?" (verse 55.)

 

In addition, Donne's proclamation at the beginning of line 14 ("And Death shall be no more...") is not only a major tenet of the Christian faith, but also very close in wording to one portion of a passage found in the Book of Revelation, which states--after describing "the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven..." at the end of time (Revelation 21:2)--"...and there shall be no more death..." (verse 4.)

 

It is quite apparent, from even a casual reading of this sonnet, that its author spent a great deal of time reading and studying scripture and meditating on the implications of what he read.  True to William Wordsworth's definition of good poetry, "Death Be Not Proud" reflects the spontaneous outpouring of intensely powerful emotions--i.e., confidence, superiority, fearlessness, indignation, disdain, and triumph-- which resulted from that time spent in deep spiritual reflection.

 

From the fertile soil of one man's spirit sprang a faith firmly rooted in scripture, a faith which not only bore spiritual fruit, but also sprouted the colorful blossoms of emotional intensity, which are capable of drawing the inner eye irresistably to the miracle unfolding silently and majestically before us.

 

And we, having had the privilege of glimpsing John Donne's faith as it is so powerfully expressed in "Death Be Not Proud," are the richer for it and come away confident that that faith will indeed remain long after the death of Death.

 

 

*All scriptural passages quoted from the Holy Bible,

  Authorized King James Version