John Donne's "Death, be not Proud"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, through his use of tone, personification and effective diction, John Donne's poem "Death, be not Proud" demonstrates how faith can conquer death. The paper points out that faith gives the narrator of the poem the power to overcome death and achieve eternal life. The paper further relates that, in the poem, death is no more powerful than humans are because death is also able to die. The paper also suggests that faith's power also eliminates any fear of death in the narrator's life.

From the Paper:

"John Donne uses effective diction in his poem "Death, be not Proud" to show how faith can conquer death. Donne's use of effective diction conveys the narrator's faith about what is after death. In line 4, the narrator shows that he pities Death: "poor Death". He is able to feel pity for Death because he strongly believes that Death is impermanent. The narrator's faith allows him to recognize that Death's role in life is temporary; death is only a small step that has to be taken to gain eternal life."

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