FREE John Donne Essay (original) (raw)

Death, commonly viewed as an all-powerful force against life, is otherwise described in John Donne's Holy Sonnet 10. As found in any English Sonnet, there is a rhyme scheme and a standard meter. Although the standard meter is iambic pentameter, as in most English Sonnets, the rhyme scheme differs a little from the usual, consisting of ABBA ABBA CDDC AE. Sonnets convey various thoughts and feelings to the reader through the different moods set by the author. In this case the speaker having to confront Death and defeat it, sets the mood. Throughout existence, there have been many theories regarding exactly what role Death plays in the lives of those who experience it. Some think Death is the ultimate controller of all living things, while others believe it is nothing more than the act of dying once your time has come. Donne, on the other hand, has his own philosophy. The entire Sonnet, Donne speaks directly to Death. He personifies what to man has always been a spirit and has never been touched, seen or furthermore killed. He gives Death life, and therefore makes it mortal, exposing it to pain, torment and eventually defeat. In lines one and two Donne says "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee, Mighty and dreadful thou art not so." By referring to Death as a person, he makes it easier for the reader to bring Death down to a level of a weakness and venerability, allowing us to examine it to see what Death really is. Humans have always been slaves to Death, fearing it, running from it, and trying to prevent it. In line nine, the speaker goes against that to say that Death is a slave to fate, chance and us. When Death becomes a slave it is because it will benefit from who will die, but doesn't have the power to kill. Without fate nothing could be determined, therefore, our fate is truthfully what controls our lives and deaths. It decides when our time has been completed on this earth, and then comes Death to take us away.

1. John Donne

John Donne Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation 17 Ann's father, Sir George More, was furious when he became aware of the secret marriage. ... Donne's hope for worldly success was gone. ... It was during this time period that Donne supposedly wrote his "sad letter to his Wife" that contained the following well known line: "John Donne, Anne Donne, Un-done." ... The court decided in Donne's favor. ... However, Carey is not too harsh on Donne. ...

2. John Donne's use of death

John Donne uses poetry to explore his own identity, express his feelings, and, most of all, he uses it to deal with the personal experiences occurring in his life. ... This essay will discuss some elements of John Donne's biography and how the issue of death is brought about in his Holy Sonnet 10, commonly called, "Death be not proud". John Donne was born into a prosperous Roman Catholic family in London in 1572. ... These harsh experiences brought out a fascination with death in John Donne. ... It is very clear that John Donne has a severe obsession with death. ...

3. Interpretation of John Donne's

METAPHYSICAL CONCEITS IN DONNE"S "THE RELIC" In most, if not all, of his works, John Donne uses the concept of "metaphysical conceits" to extensively compare one thing to another. ... Donne uses this word to describe he and his lover after they are deceased. ... Donne uses this definition of the word to describe himself and his deceased lover. ... When referring to the "Bishop" and the "King", Donne is clearly speaking of God and Christ. ... And it is in this description that yet another of Donne's metaphysical conceits becomes clear. ...

4. Wit and Religious Imagery in John Donne's

Wit and Religious Imagery in "The Flea" In his funny little poem "The Flea," John Donne merges wit with religious imagery in an attempt to convince a woman to sleep with him. In the first stanza Donne cleverly uses the humorous image of an insignificant flea that has just sucked the blood of both Donne and his intended lover as he tries to convince his beloved that the mingling of bodily fluids during intercourse would be just as innocent as their blood mingling inside the body of the flea. ... Donne ends the poem on this note, but it is interesting to notice that through a clever use of ...

5. Donne

DONNE"S IMAGERY Imagery is the expressions of sense experience impressed upon the mind of a writer through touch, smell, hearing & taste. ... In the poetry of John Donne , the leader & the first metaphysical poetry of English literature. ... The images in most of Donne's poems are certainly far-fetched. ... But donne is not much interested in nature images& avoids gods & goddesses except when he is in petrarchan mood in some of his poems.so, there's amarked departure from the conventional love poemsof the Elizabethan in donne's poems in so far his imagery is concerned. ...

6. When Death Dies: John Donne

When Death Dies: John Donne's Positive Spin on Death Death is ordinarily viewed with a certain finality that causes it to be viewed negatively. However, John Donne refutes this common belief in his poem, "Death, be not proud". Although death is the end of mortal life, Donne establishes it as a positive occurrence resulting in eternalness. ... Donne's first quatrain declares that death is not powerful because although it may think that it's killing people, it's really not. ... John Donne's final quatrain does more than just pronounce death's goodness but g...

7. John Donne And Metaphors

John Donne turns this tool into an art form in his poetry as he weaves absurd relationships between two or more seemingly unrelated ideas. ... One good example of Donne's use of absurd metaphors is in the poem entitled "The Flea". ... In lines 1 and 2 Donne begins by telling the female how unimportant her virginity is. ... Donne's use of metaphors continues in the second stanza as the female is about to kill the flea. ... The third example of Donne effectively using metaphors to express his feelings is from "Holy Sonnet 14". ...

8. John Donne

Death, commonly viewed as an all-powerful force against life, is otherwise described in John Donne's Holy Sonnet 10. ... Donne, on the other hand, has his own philosophy. The entire Sonnet, Donne speaks directly to Death. ... In lines one and two Donne says "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee, Mighty and dreadful thou art not so." ... Donne is telling Death that all those who it think it killed it really didn't, and that it cant kill him, again proving that Death is not what takes lives but what delivers them. ...

9. John Donne - "The Sunne Rising"

John Donne - "The Sunne Rising" Donne's Songs and Sonnets do not describe a single unchanging view of love; they express a wide variety of emotions and attitudes, as if Donne himself were trying to express his experience of love through his poetry. ... Taking for instance one of Donne's poems "The Sunne Rising" by itself will give us an insight into Donne's attitude to these values, but treating the poem as if it were part of a life experience. ... Many of Donne's poems deal in one way or another with such ideas of the generation or re-generation of himself (...

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