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John Donne. Sean Grayson English Essay on John Donne John Donne, a master at his
work, was born some time during the year 1572. ... Donne later became a preacher. ...
John Donne. John Donne was born in London, England, sometime during end of 1571
or between January and June 19[2] in 1572, the third of six children. ...
John Donne Holy Sonnets. John Donne Death is a very complicated subject
that people view very differently in different situations. ...
john donne's song. ... The first stanza of the poem is a list of impossible
tasks—all of which Donne compares to finding an honest, good woman. ...
Unchartered Territory: A Discussion Of Originality In The Works Of The
17th Century Poets John Donne And John Milton. Unchartered ...
Submitted by wertherhw on January 22, 2006
Category: English
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Assignment: Perform a close reading of Holy Sonnet 72 . This includes an analysis of the literary devises Donne used. Then discuss the primary theme of the poem. Include quotations to support your contention
Death (Holy Sonnet 72)
The poem Death is one of the Holy Sonnets. These sonnets are part of Donne’s later religious poems. The sonnet form that Donne uses for this poem is Petrarchan. It is a 14 line poem containing two parts, an octive (lines 1-8) and a sestet (lines 9-14). In the traditional Petrarchan sonnet there is usually a difference of tone, imagery, or attitude between the two parts of the sonnet. Here, however, there does not seem to be any break, except in the rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of the octive is abbaabba. The rhyme scheme of the first four lines of the sestet is cddc, but the last two lines do not rhyme.
The theme of this poem is clearly religious – the Christian belief that death will be overcome in eternal life. In this poem the speaker talks to death directly in a very self-confident way. The certainty that the poet has in eternal life after death is evident in the very first two lines of the poem “Death be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for, thou are not so,...” This is a striking beginning for a poem about death because people normally fear death as the end of life. But the poet denies this. He doesn’t deny that death exists, but he does say that those who die “die not” thus pointing to the spiritual side of our existence. Thus death is not as “Mighty and dreadful” as it might seem.
The rest of the poem gives arguments why death should not be feared. The poet points out, for example, that the “rest and sleep” which are commonly associated with death can be a source of pleasure if we understand them as the end of our worldly pains and concerns. Death actually means the “soules deliverie” from them. And in line 9 the poet goes on to...
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