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Similarities Between Death Be Not Proud And Because I Could Not Stop For Death

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Death is Not the End

Many have feared death ever since God created the world. Countless people have lived their lives with the haunting knowledge that at the end, they will die; losing everything they have worked for, and being buried forever to be forgotten in the ground. However, Christians have no need to fear death through Jesus’s death and resurrection. John Donne’s “Death be not proud,” and Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for death” show this. Both of these poems are about death, but they are not hopeless, or fearful. These two poems are very different, but both “Death be not Proud” and “Because I could not stop for death” talk as if “Death” is a person, have a fearless tone, and end saying something about eternal life. …show more content…

“Death” is a person, though his nature seems different in both poems. Donne’s poem talks right to Death, and is defiant, as if Donne is standing up to bully who thinks he is stronger than everyone else. Dickinson, though, takes quite a different view. In her poem, written as if telling someone a story, she says, “Death kindly stopped for me.” Here, Death has become a gentleman, kind and courteous, taking the poet on a carriage ride through the country side. And yet, both are “Death.”

Another thing both these poems have in common is the tone. Neither poem is fearful or hopeless, although Dickinson and Donne seem to have different views again. Emily Dickinson accepts death’s offer for a carriage ride, and has eerie allusions to the customs of courting or getting married in those days, although still, the tone is fearless. In Donne’s poem, he stands up to death, daring it to fight back, teasing it almost, for he knows it cannot hurt him. However, though Emily Dickinson calmly allows Death in, and John Donne is standing against it, neither are fearful, for they know that death is not the

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580 Words | 3 Pages

Dickinson romanticized death, showing no fear whilst Poe had a more candid tone. To illustrate, “We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – / We passed the Setting Sun –” (Dickinson, “Because I could not stop for death” 11-12) in contrast to, “The mimes become its food, / And seraphs sob at vermin fangs / In human gore imbued” (Poe, “The Conqueror Worm” 30-32). Dickinson’s lines seem to be light hearted when dealing with death as she is lead to the after-life, to her it was more of a trip down memory lane. On the other hand, Poe described a scene of death in which it isn’t happy.

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664 Words | 3 Pages

Whether one finds the thought of death terrifying or inviting, it will inevitably find us all. Thoughts on death is addressed in John Donne’s sonnet, “Death Not Be Proud,” and Anne Finch’s poem, “To Death.” Both are aware of death’s power, but Donne wants to take that power away while Finch wishes to show respect for it. Because Donne believes in an afterlife, death holds no power whereas Finch fears death, submitting to its power. In his defiance, Donne’s speaker undermines death by pointing out that it cannot kill, but instead delivers people into an eternal life.

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1214 Words | 5 Pages

When Dickinson was young she thought of death as a kind, peaceful gentleman. She elaborates on this idea in her poem “Because I could not Stop for Death”, “Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me/ We slowly drove - He knew no haste,” Emily Dickinson uses the personification of Death in a way that bears resemblance to a classy, peaceful gentleman who is willing to slowly guide and patiently wait for a lady. Her wording also gives the connotation that she is young and in love with this gentle Death. This idea abruptly turns into hatred when she loses her parents.

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635 Words | 3 Pages

John Donne and Dylan Thomas use a similarly defiant tone to recommend that Death is an enemy that must be resisted. Donne wrote in his poem “Death, be not proud” about a speaker expressing his strong feelings towards death. In addition, Thomas wrote about how humans should react when they are near death or in their death bed in his poem “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night,” Donne and Thomas use a defiant tone against death to encourage readers to believe that they have the ability to control their fate and that death is only used as a tool and has no real power First off, Donne uses a defiant tone to recommend that death is an enemy that must be resisted. In this poem, the speaker is addressing death directly and challenges him while giving the readers the impression that he is weak. In the first example, Donne writes in the two introductory lines of the poem, “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;” In this quotation, the speaker of the poem directly addresses Death fearlessly and basically tells him not to be conceited, that he is not as powerful as everyone seems

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315 Words | 2 Pages

The poet John Donne, lived through from the late 16th to the early 17th century. It was thought that the poem was about the passing of his wife, then once she had died he always viewed death to be like a bully and tried to take its power away. Poem 2 was about the narrator unfolding how his family and other members responded to the death of his younger brother. Contrasting this, poem 1 spoke of himself responding to his perspective.

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975 Words | 4 Pages

In the poem “Because I could not stop for death” by Emily Dickinson, death is described as a person, and the narrator is communicating her journey with death in the afterlife. During the journey the speaker describes death as a person to accompany her during this journey. Using symbolism to show three locations that are important part of our lives. The speaker also uses imagery to show why death isn 't’ so scary.

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710 Words | 3 Pages

4- ‘DEATH BE NOT PROUD” In the poem “ Death Be Not Proud” the author wants us to view death as something that is not bad but almost like a reward to eternal or after life . The poem puts a twist on death as if death is this awesome thing when in actually it's not. Donne also states that there is eternal life one you've reached death which is persuading the reader to look forward to eternal life once you have died. the poem consists of a series of paradoxical images of death as powerful, yet weak and servile.

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2060 Words | 9 Pages

“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art no so?” (John Donne. Holy Sonnets 1-2). “Holy Sonnets” starts with the Donne talking about death, who he treats as a person.

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1703 Words | 7 Pages

Emily Dickinson’s exploration of death and consciousness in “Because I could not stop for Death” and “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” reveals her skepticism about eternal life and God. Much of Emily Dickinson’s work focuses on the finality of consciousness in death and her relationship with God. Her poems ponder what it means to move from physical awareness to one that is purely metaphysical. “Because I could not stop for Death” and “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” highlight her unique view on the transfer of consciousness between life and death by reflecting on the mind during or after passing. Dickinson’s understanding of death was limited to her own experience which left her, like many others, questioning.

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509 Words | 3 Pages

In addition, death is a concept not a human being , but he gives it real human like characteristics. He considers death to not “mighty” or “dreadful” but something else. Donne is personifying Death, and addressing him as an as an inferior. Donne is stating that Death really likes to consider himself as a strong and fearsome, when

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1014 Words | 5 Pages

In the first stanza, the speaker establishes the relationship between the speaker and Death. The speaker personifies Death as being a kind fellow who is picking up the speaker for a carriage ride. Death “kindly stopped” (Dickinson line 2) for her which suggests that the

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754 Words | 4 Pages

Death is unknown, death is feared, and death is letting go. Many poets, and many people have attempted to confront death. In Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” the speaker confronts death with a belief that it overpowers the most powerful people. The poem uses imagery to show how power is lost by Ozymandias after death. In John Donne’s “Death be not proud,” religion is used to overpower death.

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926 Words | 4 Pages

In “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, Emily Dickinson uses imagery and symbols to establish the cycle of life and uses examples to establish the inevitability of death. This poem describes the speaker’s journey to the afterlife with death. Dickinson uses distinct images, such as a sunset, the horses’ heads, and the carriage ride to establish the cycle of life after death. Dickinson artfully uses symbols such as a child, a field of grain, and a sunset to establish the cycle of life and its different stages. Dickinson utilizes the example of the busyness of the speaker and the death of the sun to establish the inevitability of death.

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784 Words | 4 Pages

‘Because I Could Not Stop for Death’ Analysis ‘Because I could not stop for Death’ is a lyrical poem written by Emily Dickinson first published posthumously in Poems: Series 1 in 1890. She gives us a unique interpretation of Death—as someone kind and courteous, compassionately taking us to ‘the other side’. Dickinson’s use of capitalization and dashes in this poem is highly effective--her dashes guiding us along to the next line—therefore slowing the poem dramatically, henceforth placing a much heavier emphasis on the words following them. As Death is personified as going out of his way to collect our speaker, she speaks fondly of him—perhaps in the same manner one may regard a gentleman caller.

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887 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the portion of his life spent as a priest, Donne wrote most of his poetry, including one of his most eminent sonnets. “Death, be not Proud,” is renowned for its whimsical conversation with Death, its striking literary elements,

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