"Sonnet X", also known by its opening words as "Death Be Not Proud", is a fourteen-line poem, or

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

, by English poet

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

(1572–1631), one of the leading figures in the

metaphysical poets The term Metaphysical poets was coined by the critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterised by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrica ...

group of seventeenth-century

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. Written between February and August 1609, it was first published posthumously in 1633. It is included as one of the nineteen sonnets that comprise Donne's ''

Holy Sonnets The ''Holy Sonnets''—also known as the ''Divine Meditations'' or ''Divine Sonnets''—are a series of nineteen poems by the English poet John Donne (1572–1631). The sonnets were first published in 1633—two years after Donne's death. The ...

'' or ''Divine Meditations'', among his best-known works. Most editions number the poem as the tenth in the

sonnet sequence A sonnet sequence is a group of sonnets thematically unified to create a long work, although generally, unlike the stanza, each sonnet so connected can also be read as a meaningful separate unit. The sonnet sequence was a very popular genre during ...

, which follows the order of poems in the Westmoreland Manuscript (), the most complete arrangement of the cycle, discovered in the late nineteenth century. However, two editions published shortly after Donne's death include the sonnets in a different order, where this poem appears as eleventh in the ''Songs and Sonnets'' (published 1633) and sixth in ''Divine Meditations'' (published 1635). "Death Be Not Proud" presents an argument against the power of death. Addressing Death as a person, the speaker warns Death against pride in his power. Such power is merely an illusion, and the end Death thinks it brings to men and women is in fact a rest from world-weariness for its alleged "victims." The poet criticizes Death as a slave to other forces: fate, chance, kings, and desperate men. Death is not in control, for a variety of other powers exercise their volition in taking lives. Even in the rest it brings, Death is inferior to drugs. Finally, the speaker predicts the end of Death itself, stating "Death, thou shalt die."

Poem

Donne had a major illness that brought him close to death during his eighth year as an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

minister. The illness may have been

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

, but in recent years it has been shown that he may have had a relapsing

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

in combination with other illnesses. The sonnet has an ABBA ABBA CDDC EE

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...

("eternalLY" is meant to rhyme with "DIE"). The last line alludes to 1 Corinthians 15:26: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death". The poem's opening words are echoed in a contemporary poem, "Death be not proud, thy hand gave not this blow", sometimes attributed to Donne, but more likely by his patron Lucy Harington Russell, Countess of Bedford.

Notable use in pop culture

Death Be Not Proud "Sonnet X", also known by its opening words as "Death Be Not Proud", is a fourteen-line poem, or sonnet, by English poet John Donne (1572–1631), one of the leading figures in the metaphysical poets group of seventeenth-century English literat ...

'' (1949) by

John Gunther John Gunther (August 30, 1901 – May 29, 1970) was an American journalist and writer. His success came primarily by a series of popular sociopolitical works, known as the "Inside" books (1936–1972), including the best-selling ''Insid ...

, is a memoir of his son's struggle with — and ultimately death from — a brain tumor. "Death Be Not Proud" was partially recited by Jason Miller as Patient X in the film ''

The Exorcist III ''The Exorcist III'' is a 1990 American psychological horror film written and directed by William Peter Blatty. It is the third installment in the ''Exorcist'' series, an adaptation of Blatty's ''Exorcist'' novel ''Legion'' (1983), and the fin ...

''. The first two and last two lines of "Death Be Not Proud" are recited by

Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

in ''The Prophet'' (Episode 16, Season 3 of Have Gun - Will Travel). The poem was set for voice and piano by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

as the concluding song in his

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...

The Holy Sonnets of John Donne ''The Holy Sonnets of John Donne'' is a song cycle composed in 1945 by Benjamin Britten for tenor or soprano voice and piano, and published as his Op. 35. It was written for himself and his life-partner, the tenor Peter Pears, and its first pe ...

''. In the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

–winning play ''Wit'' by

Margaret Edson Margaret "Maggie" Edson (born July 4, 1961) is an American playwright. She is a recipient of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''Wit''. She has been a public school teacher since 1992. Background and education Edson was born in Was ...

(and the film adaptation with

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

), the sonnet plays a central role. The first two lines are recited at the beginning of the title track to

Children of Bodom Children of Bodom was a Finnish melodic death metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993 as Inearthed, the final line-up of the group upon their split in 2019 consisted of Alexi Laiho (lead guitar, lead vocals), Jaska Raatikainen (drums), Henkka Sep ...

's third album ''

Follow the Reaper ''Follow the Reaper'' is the third studio album by Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom, released in Finland in October 2000 by Spinefarm Records and in 2001 internationally by Nuclear Blast Records. The album is the first to u ...

''. The poem is recited in its entirety by

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus t ...

at the end of Episode 4 of the 1987 BBC series '' Fortunes of War'', following the death of one of the main characters. The title of the 1981 hostage drama film Kings and Desperate Men starring

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

, Alexis Kanner and

Margaret Trudeau Margaret Joan Trudeau ( Sinclair, formerly Kemper; born September 10, 1948) is a Canadian activist. She married Pierre Trudeau, the 15th prime minister of Canada, in 1971; three years after he became prime minister. They divorced in 1984, d ...

is taken from the poem and McGoohan recites part of it in the film. In ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode "

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mentions reading the poem. Additionally, the

season 7 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

episode "

Marge Be Not Proud "Marge Be Not Proud" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1995. In the episode, Marge refuses to bu ...

" derives its title from the poem. Plot keystone, and last lines, in the 1984 film ''The Hit''. In

Inside No. 9 ''Inside No. 9'' is a British black comedy anthology television programme that first aired in 2014. It is written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and produced by the BBC. Each 30-minute episode is a self-contained story with new chara ...

, Series 5, episode "Death Be Not Proud", the last two lines are recited. In

MacGruber ''MacGruber'' was a recurring sketch on the NBC television series ''Saturday Night Live'', first appearing on the show in January 2007. The sketch is a parody of the 1985–1992 adventure series ''MacGyver''. The sketch stars Will Forte as spec ...

, within the first episode, the main character unsuccessfully recites it. The name of the fifth volume of the light novel " 86: Eighty Six" by

Asato Asato is a female Japanese novelist. The pen name Asato Asato is a combination of her real name (Toru Asakura) and eighty-eight. Career Asato started writing novels just before she entered junior high school. She initially submitted her work to t ...

References

Sources

*Schaper, Arthur.
Poetry Analysis: 'Death Be Not Proud' By John Donne
. Classical Poets, 2013. Accessed 24 February 2020.

External links

"Death Be Not Proud" in Representative Poetry Online
* http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/DeathBe.html * http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15836 * {{John Donne 1609 poems 1633 poems Poetry by John Donne Poems about death Poems published posthumously

Poem

Notable use in pop culture

References

Sources

Further reading

External links