John Donne was a leading figure in metaphysical poetry, and this piece is an excellent example. This poem by John Donne conveys the message that death is not what we make it out to be. His poem assumes that we view death as a disturbing entity, something to be afraid of. This is evident throughout the ages in our religion and literature, where death is a god and comes to gather souls and take them to the afterlife and where authors wrote tales of heroes narrowly escaping the clutches of death. However, Donne argues that death is actually powerless and not at all scary. He does this by personifying death as a weak figure and using metaphors to compare it to other things. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay I find Donne's use of personification to be crucial to his argument, as in making death appear more human , it removes the feeling of divine power that it conveys. For example, in the poem he states: “Death, do not be proud, although some call you Mighty and formidable. . . and "Death, you will die", these statements personify Death as a figure who perceives himself as powerful and terrifying, when in reality this is not true, because the author believes that death cannot kill him but simply to give him a pleasant rest. And while we know that death can't actually die, I think what the author really meant is that if we don't hold death in such high esteem, it will lose all meaning. By characterizing death in this way, he eliminates the prejudice that death is something to be afraid of. The use of metaphors in the poem is also vital in developing the author's argument. For example, in the poem he states: “You are the slave of fate, of chance, of kings and desperate men.” Donne here compares death to a slave. He makes this comparison by concluding that death simply follows the orders of fate, chance or men. And that anyone could commit suicide and leave death powerless. To further humiliate death, he compares it to rest and sleep, as I have already mentioned. And if sleep and rest bring comfort to a person, eternal sleep can't be so bad. Donne later states: “And the poppy or the hornbeams can also make us sleep… why do you swell then? He once again belittles death by saying that drugs can also put a man to sleep, so what should death be proud of. Besides how we should view death, I believe there is another message in the poem, that after death there is eternal life awaiting the good man. I came to the conclusion of several pieces of text from the poem, one being "you can't kill me yet", this statement hints at some kind of immortality. Another being: "And soon our best men with you will depart, rest to their bones and deliverance to their soul", this suggests that good men need not fear death because they are freed from their bodies and delivered in heaven. And finally "a short sleep past, we wake up eternally", it's quite simple, once you die, you will enjoy eternal life. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Something What was interesting to me during my research was that John Donne suffered from a near-fatal illness, so perhaps this poem was created from his struggle with dead. And after..