“Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet X)
John Donne * Track #8 On Divine Meditations
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Album Divine Meditations
- #1
Thou hast made me, and shall thy worke decay? (Holy Sonnet I)John Donne
- #2As due by many titles I resigne (Holy Sonnet 2)
John Donne
- #3O might those sighes and teares returne againe (Holy Sonnet III)
John Donne
- #4Oh my blacke Soule! now thou art summoned (Holy Sonnet IV)
John Donne
- #5I am a little world made cunningly (Holy Sonnet V)
John Donne
- #6This is my playes last scene, here heavens appoint (Holy Sonnet VI)
John Donne
- #7What if this present were the worlds last night? (Holy Sonnet VIII)
John Donne
- #8“Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet X)
John Donne
- #9Spit in my face you Jewes, and pierce my side (Holy Sonnet XI)
John Donne
- #10Why are wee by all creatures waited on? (Holy Sonnet XII)
John Donne
- #11Batter my heart, three-person’d God (Holy Sonnet XIV)
John Donne
- #12Wilt thou love God, as he thee? then digest (Holy Sonnet XV)
John Donne
- #13Father, part of his double interest (Holy Sonnet XVI)
John Donne
- #14Since she whom I lov’d hath payd her last debt (Holy Sonnet XVII)
John Donne
- #15Show me deare Christ, thy Spouse, so bright and clear. (Holy Sonnet XVIII)
John Donne
- #16Oh, to vex me, contraryes meet in one (Holy Sonnet XIX)
John Donne
"Death, be not proud" (Holy Sonnet X) by John Donne
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John DonneAbout
“Death be not proud” was written circa 1610, when Donne was around 38 years old. In it, he personifies death as a way of mocking it. Because death takes everyone, Donne portrays it as a proud, arrogant entity — but one that is powerless in the end. In the process, he argues that death is nothing to...
“Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet X) Annotated
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 art 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.
“Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet X) Q&A
When did John Donne release “Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet X)?
John Donne released “Death, be not proud” (Holy Sonnet X) on Sat Jan 01 1633.