Questions to consider:
- What is being personified in the first poem?
- How does the speaker feel about death in the first poem?
- The second poem wasn't at first a poem, but a section from Donne's "Meditation XVII." It therefore does not have a strict structure like the "Holy Sonnet." What effect does this have?
- What allusion is being made when Donne references the "bells tolling"?
- What extended metaphor is Donne using in "For Whom the Bell Tolls"?
Holy Sonnet X: Death Be Not Proud
Death, be not proud, though some have callèd 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 yet thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more, must low
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.
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 yet thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more, must low
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.
For Whom the Bell Tolls
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
Dakiece Jones:
ReplyDeleteThe poem For Whom the Bell Tolls tells me that one person is not as important as the other and isnt worth as much as the other person is. It teaches the moral to love your friends and fellow men because he is of your own kind both of flesh and blood.
How does the speaker feel about death in the first poem?
ReplyDeleteIt's like he is telling you not to be afraid of it. Like its nothing major or people may make it out to be something its not. I feel like he is characterizing death as just a death of his body but not him as a whole. Also i fell like he is trying to say death will be no more because when you die its almost like you are set free. Leaving your past and starting an eternal future where you have peace and you have exscaped the awful wonders of the world!
-Damonae Smith
Dara Sao: I think that the first poem is personifying death. It is saying that death is something not so powerful and is not so fearful in the eyes of the author. In the second poem, it gives a feeling of isolation, "If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less." It also gives a sense of moaring for a death because he says "Each man's death Diminishes me." Both of these poems mentions death.
ReplyDeleteDakiece...what if it is a tree...? Don't just love fellow man my son...love EVERYTHING...! "If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything else in between can be dealt with." - Michael Joseph Jackson "King of Pop"
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletewow dara you sure love the word death, just saying
ReplyDeleteAnn Li
#Based
ReplyDeleteRespond To Dakiec
ReplyDeleteI feel like this poem is saying that no one man is greater than another.. that everyone is equal and with out one person we wouldnt be whole! i feel like this poem represents equality and unity also fairness between people.
-Damonae Smith
@Damonae Smith, I totally agree with that. He does feel like he is trying to say death will be gone once you die because there's nothing holding you down once you die.
ReplyDelete@Dakeice Jones,
ReplyDeleteAt first, I thought the poem For Whom the Bell Tolls wouldn't interest me but, your response made the poem so much better. I actually read the poem and enjoyed the fact that the poem didnt necesscarily have to rhyme for you to understand the meaning.
Daemonae i have to agree with you because in the peom he speaks as if death is kind of a sad thing but at the same time you should be afraid to go because when you die there is not another chance for that so when you die you are back at peace. he says "One short sleep past, we awake eternally" he is saying that when you die its like a short sleep but when you awaken again it's forever.
ReplyDelete-Lea H.
Death not be proud has kind of a cryptic meaning to me i understand that there not try to make death sound like its always horrifying or gruesome. But man makes death sound horiible with poison, war, and sickness when death could be as peaceful as dying in your sleep. Thats just my interpretation of what he trying to say.
ReplyDelete@Dakiece: You’re absolutely correct in saying that Donne is trying to communicate the importance of community and love for one another. We cannot exist independently as islands do.
ReplyDelete@Dara: Death is being personified. We know this because the speaker refers to death as a person. I also think the quote, "If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less” is significant because it gives the readers a sense of where the writer is from. An American might use the United States as a metaphor instead.
@Damonae & Unknown: Great use of “cryptic.” It applies well here. I think both of you have interpreted “Death Be Not Proud” well. Donne writes about death in a way in which we usually don’t consider it—as a freeing concept.
"If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything else in between can be dealt with." - Michael Joseph Jackson "King of Pop"
ReplyDeletei love his quote. from this qoute i feel like he is trying to say that love conquers all. its like no matter what nobody else says about you if you know where you stand within yourself then nothing else matters.
-Damonae Smith