Holy Sonnet X

1
Holy Sonnet X

• By
• John Donne

2
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so For
those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must
flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and
desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and
sickness dwell, And poppy, or charms can make us
sleep as well, And better than thy stroke why
swell'st thou then? One short sleep past, we
wake eternally, And Death shall be no more
Death, thou shalt die.
3
Structure of the Sonnet

• Rhyme Scheme
• abba abba cddc ee
• Variation of an Italian sonnet?
• Volta is present after the octet

4
MeterLine 1

• Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
  
• 9 syllables
• Death, be/not proud,/though some /have called/
  thee
• Trochaic pentameter Catalexis

5
MeterLine 1(another possibility?)

• Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
• Death, be not /proud, though some/ have called
  thee
• Dactylic trimeter

6
MeterLine 2

• Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so
• Mighty/ and dread/ful, for/ thou art /not so
• 10 syllables
• first foottrochaic
• iambic pentameter for the rest of the line

7
MeterLine 3

• For those, whom thou think'st thou dost
  overthrow,
• For those/, whom thou/ think'st thou /dost
  o/verthrow,
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

8
MeterLine 4

• Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me
• Die not,/ poor Death/, nor yet/ canst thou/ kill
  me.
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

9
MeterLine 5

• From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
• From rest/ and sleep/, which but/ thy pic/tures
  be,
• 10 syllables

10
MeterLine 6

• Much pleasure, then from thee much more must
  flow,
• Much plea/sure, then/ from thee/ much more/ must
  flow,
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

11
MeterLine 7

• And soonest our best men with thee do go,
• And soon/est our/ best men/ with thee/ do go,
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

12
MeterLine 8

• Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
• Rest of /their bones/, and soul's/ deliv/ery.
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

13
MeterLine 9

• Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and
  desperate men,
• Thou'rt slave/ to Fate,/ chance, kings,/ and
  des/perate men,
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

14
MeterLine 10

• And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
• And dost/ with poi/son, war/, and sick/ness
  dwell,
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

15
MeterLine 11

• And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
• And poppy, /or charms /can make /us sleep/ as
  well,
• 11 syllables
• iambic pentameter anacrusis (first foot is
  trochaic)

16
MeterLine 12

• And better than thy stroke why swell'st thou
  then?
• And bet/ter than/ thy stroke/ why swell'st/ thou
  then?
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

17
MeterLine 13

• One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
• One short/ sleep past/, we wake/ etern/ally,
• 10 syllables
• iambic pentameter

18
MeterLine 14

• And Death shall be no more Death, thou shalt
  die.
• And Death/ shall be/ no more/ Death, thou /shalt
  die.
• first three feet are iambic pentameter
• after semi-colon, the meter becomes trochaic

19
Good Question

• What poetic device or literary term most
  significantly influences the changes in the meter
  of this sonnet?
• Caesura
• A natural pause or break

20
Caesura

• Connection to grammar (punctuation)
• Commas versus periods
• 3 periods, 3 semi-colons, and 1 question mark.
• 25 commas

21
Purpose of Commas?

• A comma creates a pause in the sentence
• How is the poet trying to define death in this
  sonnet?
• A small pause in our existence

22
Poetic Devices/Literary Terms

• Personification
• Capitalizing Death (line 1)

23
Poetic Devices/Literary Terms

• Apostrophe
• Addressing Death (line 1)

24
Poetic Devices/Literary Terms

• Enjambment
• The running over of the sense and grammatical
  structure from one verse line or couplet to the
  next without a punctuated pause.
• Lines 1-2

25
Poetic Devices/Literary Terms

• Alliteration/Consonance
• Repetition of the th sound (line 3)

26
Poetic Devices/Literary Terms

• Metaphor
• Comparing death to sleep (line 5, line 8, line
  11-12, line 13)

27
Poetic Devices/Literary Terms

• Tone
• Hopeful
• Highly influenced by the diction and imagery

28
Poetic Devices/Literary TermsImagery

• Religious Imagery
• souls delivery (8)
• eternally (13)

• Sleep Imagery
• rest and sleep (5)
• Much pleasure (6)
• Rest of their bones (8)
• And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well
  (10)
• One short sleep past (13)
• we wake eternally (13)

29
CONTENT
30
Octet First Quatrain

• The poet calls out Death (via apostrophe and
  personification) as if Death is some school yard
  bully. According to the poet, that which we as
  humans fear the most, Death, should not be proud.
  The poet admits that people have referred to
  Death as mighty and dreadful but he powerfully
  suggests that these adjectives are inappropriate.

31
Octet First Quatrain

• The poet dismisses Deaths definition of self,
  that is Death does not do what it thinks it
  doesthese people do not die! In fact, the poet
  boldly claims that Death cannot take him. The
  gutsy phrase poor Death is so profound the
  poet actually sympathizes with arguably the most
  powerful force in our existence.

32
Octet Second Quatrain

• The second quatrain almost mocks Death. The poet
  cannot argue that people die instead he suggests
  that Death is actually a pleasant experience,
  equating it to sleeping. True, our best men and
  women will come in contact with Death, but Death
  provides pleasure and rest for bones and souls.

33
Sestet Quatrain

• Here the poet begins to discuss the companions of
  Death poison, war and sickness. This company of
  negativity is not very complementary towards
  Death. Again, the poet shows courage as he
  informs Death that medicine and other remedies
  can outperform the job of Death provide sleep.
  He asks why Death is so boastfulswellst.

34
Sestet Couplet

• The climax of the poem is found in the couplet.
  Again the poet admits that we all will die, but
  he describes the experience as one short sleep
  allowing us to wake eternally. In our eternal
  awakening, Death will not be found because
  Death, thou shalt die. The paradox is profound
  the death of Death occurs after we experience our
  own deaths. Our deaths are temporary, like an
  afternoon nap Death, on the other hand, will
  experience true non-existence.