JOHN DONNE Death Be Not Proud poem | Holy Sonnet 10 | Metaphysical Poetry | LITERATURE ANALYSIS

John Donne DEATH BE NOT PROUD poem analysis | Holy Sonnet 10 | Literature analysis & close reading of John Donne’s metaphysical poetry in which he logically confronts (& overthrows?) Death’s pride. The lecture summarises John Donne’s argument & unpicks the poem’s imagery.

If you’d like to support the channel, you can here

CLOSE READING CLASSIC LITERATURE
#DrOctaviaCox
#UnfamiliarReadings
#CloseReadingClassicLiterature

FOR MORE LITERARY ANALYSIS see my ‘Close Reading Classic Literature’ playlist:

KEYWORDS
Death Be Not Proud
John Donne Death Be Not Proud
Death Be Not Proud John Donne
Death Be Not Proud by John Donne
Metaphysical poetry John Donne
Death Be Not Proud poem
Death Be Not Proud analysis
Death Be Not Proud summary
Death Be Not Proud meaning
Holy Sonnet 10
John Donne Holy Sonnets
Holy Sonnets
John Donne Holy Sonnet 10
John Donne poetry
John Donne poem
Metaphysical poetry
John Donne
Donne Death Be Not Proud
Holy Sonnet 10 analysis
Poem about death
Close reading
English Literature
Death Be Not Proud
John Donne Death Be Not Proud
Death Be Not Proud John Donne
Death Be Not Proud by John Donne
Metaphysical poetry John Donne
Death Be Not Proud poem
Death Be Not Proud analysis
Death Be Not Proud summary
Death Be Not Proud meaning
Holy Sonnet 10
John Donne Holy Sonnets
Holy Sonnets
John Donne Holy Sonnet 10
John Donne poetry
John Donne poem
Metaphysical poetry
John Donne
Donne Death Be Not Proud
Holy Sonnet 10 analysis
Poem about death
Close reading
English Literature
Death Be Not Proud
John Donne Death Be Not Proud
Death Be Not Proud John Donne
Death Be Not Proud by John Donne
Metaphysical poetry John Donne
Death Be Not Proud poem
Death Be Not Proud analysis
Death Be Not Proud summary
Death Be Not Proud meaning
Holy Sonnet 10
John Donne Holy Sonnets
Holy Sonnets
John Donne Holy Sonnet 10
John Donne poetry
John Donne poem
Metaphysical poetry
John Donne
Donne Death Be Not Proud
Holy Sonnet 10 analysis
Poem about death
Close reading
English Literature
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis
john donne holy sonnets
death be not proud summary
death be not proud john donne
john donne poem
metaphysical poetry john donne
john donne poetry
metaphysical poem
john donne holy sonnet 10 analysis
john donne death be not proud poem analysis
death be not proud meaning
death be not proud analysis

[DrOctaviaCox]

Do you find Donne’s logic & imagery compelling? Does Donne’s speaker overthrow Death, do you think?

[robertgainer]

I love this poem. I think the volta is subtle but meta-poetic, switching from a defiance to death’s inevitability to an outright attack that metaphorically ‘turns the tables’ on death. Another excellent analysis.

[soho]

I found this poem when reading the play Margaret Edson's W;t (the protagonist is an English professor who studies John Donne's work and later on gets diagnosed with cancer and deals with death herself) and then reading the book "On Doctoring" (includes this poem), and I didn't understand the meaning behind it as I'm not good at close reading at all but thank you so much Dr. Cox for this amazing explanation, it really helped me understand this rather beautiful poem!

[NotSpockToo]

Thank you for this. I never liked poetry until an English teacher included Donne (whom she hated) in an overview session. I fell immediately in love with his words and imagery and have since read all of his poetry, prose, and am working my way through his sermons (and I'm not remotely religious). A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and Death Be No Proud are my very favorites.

[yusuffulat]

This is such a great poem. It provides an empowering perspective when facing the concept of death and loss.

[chrisbcakes]

I can't believe I hadn't come across this poem before! Thank you.

[lesleywalllace]

I studied Donne for A level (many years ago!) and have loved his poems ever since. What has always struck me is that the passion he put into his love poetry remains in his holy sonnets after his conversion. The sonnets are not quiet and contemplative but dynamic and impassioned. You can imagine him thumping his lectern as he delivers them! When these were written most of his readers would have been very familiar with Christian theology of eternal life. This is less so nowadays so I wonder if the poem has the same impact now as it had previously?

[DavidSaffern]

One of my husband's favorites poems. Thank you for dissecting for those of us who have trouble understanding poetry. My husband loved poetry. So many books on poetry. Thank you again.

JKE

[CGMaat]

Dear Dr. OCTAVIA- thank you for this quintessential explanation to one of my most loved poems that i have always interpreted as the secret of what the mere Christian fairy tale is about. This poem connected me to transcendence like no other and i am not a privileged elite - i was educated in New York City schools and as Puerto Rican and trouble even understanding everyday language . There was some very beautiful way about this dialogue that blew me away. Now i found you and you have masterly deepen the beauty and given me more knowledge in that lovely British voice .
I just put together the Russian Dying SWAN with this poem - for my imagination of the transition ; like you said it is just a divine nap- ( LOVE THIS NEW INTERPRETATION) and we become so very rested and beautiful . In Socrates ‘ PHAEDRAS it is the trumpeter’s song - the more beautiful when thy know that they are to die - this gives me so MUCH HOPE!THE GREAT NEWS! I didnt know the COR.. SCRIPTURE - WOW . Today is an UTMOST FINE- YOU! Thank you for this illumination !SEE DYING SWAN- DLYANA-LOPATKINA

[aruns]

I am so proud that for your explanation, understanding this is poem is a great

[metaphysicalmigraine]

Thank you for an accurate elucidation of John Donne's sonnet. I didn't know how to compose one before, and I'm still at a loss, even if I swear I'm Voltaire reincarnated, with one quatrain or stanza, the exact in English I wrote unaware of his translation in his native French tongue:
Truth is my compass.
My journey is time.
So much can amass.
Such too is sublime.
I've written extensively with metaphysical meanderings of the mind and am inclined to link my think with ink as Lore and myth before.
Awesome analysis.

Thanks again.

[farnaddarnell]

Thank you for this wonderful analysis of such a deep and provoking poem. I'm thinking of reading this at my mom's funeral, as I find it comforting to address death head on.

[darrenw]

I am agnostic, but I do enjoy John Donne's poems. I particularly like this one because it marries with my own belief that death is not to be feared. We don't fear being born. It is part of the cycle. Most of the time it is living we fear. It is living we make an enemy of. In the west we have these silly euphemisms for death like: he passed away. HE DIED. As a keen gardener and animal lover I have witnessed death many times. Plants, cats and dogs die just as we will. We are allotted our time here in accordance with biology. So dance while you are here and try not to fear life nor death.
The one line in the poem I take umbrage with is his assertion that death dwells with the sick. This feeds into the idea of Supermen. The concept that illness is a sign of weakness. That line offends me personally and I would imagine a lot of infirm people. After all, most of us will confront infirmity before death finally calls time on our dance on this comic flat earth.
With saying that, I really enjoyed your analysis.
Darren

[suganthym]

Thank you very much. Found this oddly comforting.

[LindaMarie]

Love this! Beautifully delivered and "interpreted!" Have you got anything like this on pain, suffering? You have whet my appetite!🥰💖😇

[Beastlee]

I always read this poem as the 1600’s version of their way of saying “yolo”. After your explanation I don’t know if I’m wrong but I feel like I am. Idk. I’m a high school drop out.

[ruthlevai]

Couldn't "yet" in the fourth line also be understood as "moreover", rather than, as you say, hinting at his anxiety?

[henryahoy]

I think I may have studied this (several centuries ago) at school. It seems so ridiculous to remember a bunch of 14yr olds in rural New South Wales in the late 70's being expected to make anything of this.

[paganpoetprophet]

If I may add ? To quote EMILY DICKINSON, poetry is but life distilled, john donne attempts perhaps to simplify and distill death itself,

[RonLWilson]

It seems that death does exert power over those some who call it mighty. For we also read that the devil roars like a lion and a male lion roars to panic their prey into running into an ambush the the female lions in the pride weighting in ambush.

Thus not fearing that roar of death and thus giving flight also defeats its power.