John Donnes Paradox Essay

John Donnes Paradox

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin: and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. - I Corinthians 15:55-57 -- 55

The Sonnet of Death, Be Not Proud is an eloquently told argument for why death is not to be feared, but embraced. Its author John Donne argues that death is weak and cannot hurt us. He knows death is what all men by nature fear, because we have not seen what comes after it. In a very theatrical fashion he laughs in the face of death because he claims that it is not powerful but weak. The poem shows his confidence in Christianity and the theory of the immortality of the soul. One may assume Donne arrogant for writing as though he knows what death will bring. However, he didnt write the sonnet out of arrogance, but to give hope to those who may be in a state of despair. Donnes chief aim is to instill confidence into Christians by reminding them that they shouldnt fear death.

It is part of an ordained priests duty to lead the souls of the faithful toward the divine and to think of religious concepts. It has been argued that despair is the most efficient way to lead people away from the divine. Many theologians know despair to be the most dangerous of all sins not be confused with the worst sin which is hatred of god. St. Thomas Aquinas argues in his theological masterpiece Summa Theologica that, despair is most dangerous, since hope withdraws us from evils and induces us to seek for good things, so that when hope is given up, men rush headlong into sin, and are drawn away from good works. (Question 20, Article 3) To summarize St. Thomas quote, hope is what draws us away from evil and focuses us on what is good, so he concludes that despair would therefore do the opposite, thus leading people into sin. Giving people hope so that they may be lead out of sin an obvious inspiration for writing such a poem.

It is reasonable to ask, what is so despairing that brings out the need for such a poem? Donne lived from 1572 1631 and it wasnt a very happy time period. Donne was ordained around the time the plague had taken claim to thousands of lives in London. There are religious persecutions going on between Catholics and reformers. Of all the reasons the most important is the same it always has been. We fear what we do not control and or fully understand. Every age, every society, and every person have many reasons to feel despair. It doesnt seem that there was any major event that inspired to write such a poem. In all likelihood Donne wrote Death, Be Not Proud to give hope to those who have poor health or for people that are dealing with the death of a loved one.

The poem begins with a paradoxical statement, Death be not proud, though some have called thee / mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so. (1-2) Typically when we think of death we instantly think of it as a powerful force and to be feared above all else. Donnes Theatrical personification of death as something weak is used to instantly give the reader hope. His rebuke of death is used to demonstrate that the negative connotation of it based on a false premise, the premise being that death is a horrible entity. He then reveals death for how feeble it really is by saying, for those whom thou thinkst dost overthrow / die not, poor death nor yet canst thou kill me. (3-4) Death is not to be feared, but actually thought of as an impecunious peasant who does not have control over us. Christian doctrine claims that death is not the end, but the beginning to a new life. For this reason Donne tries to make the case that it is something to embrace rather than to fear. When people think death is something not to fear it gives them a great deal of confidence and restores sense of hope.

Donne wants Christians to think of death as the beginning of something new but also something that will bring forth pleasure. As Jesus of Nazareth preached to his followers, Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven (Mathew 5:12) Donne argues that, From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, / much pleasure; then from thee much, more must flow. (4-5) To summarize, Donne states that dying and falling asleep very similar. Falling asleep is a very pleasant feeling, and that last moments of the process of death bring forth a pleasant feeling. Thus he concludes from inductive reasoning that since dying and falling asleep are very similar we should assume that their end result is very similar. Once you take into account the doctrine of everlasting life in Christian theology its clear that his argument is an attempt to convince people to think of death as the beginning of the reward of everlasting life.

Along with having his readers contemplate the reward of eternal life Donne reminds them that it is good men that receive this reward. He proclaims, And soonest our best men with thee do go, / Rest of their bones and souls delivery. (7-8) He adds this line in so the reader remembers that the afterlife is not for everybody. Notice that he doesnt say everyone with thee all men do go. There are two major theological reasons why Donne would say everlasting life is for the souls of good men. First if people think that everybody will obtain it no matter what then there is no need to strive for holiness in as so far as being a good Christian is concerned. The second reason is that it would be heretical to say everyone including the wicked will also obtain everlasting life, "God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed" (Ecclesiastes 3:17). As an Anglican priest he is obliged to encourage the faithful to want to be good.

Furthermore Donne reaches the pinnacle moment of his argument when he claims that Phenomenas outside of death are what have true power. Hence he writes, Thou art slave to fate, chance kings, and desperate men, / and dost with poison, war, sickness dwell. (9-10). In Donnes mind death is not in control of anything, it is rather enslaved by everything. The couplet is used to make the reader think that it is fate (God) and what it has set before man that is in control. Everything fate has set before man enslaves death to its own will. He follows up that couplet up by using a different variation of his argument from lines 5 - 6 And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well, and better then thy stroke; why swellest thou then? (11-12). He believes if poppys and charms feel like the euphoric feeling of death then they will have similar results, thus he concludes, we shouldnt worry about death. On the whole, lines nine through twelve are used as supporting evidence for his original arguments he set out to prove.

Donne ends the poem in a correlative way to which he began it, by calling death powerless to bring a message of hope. His final couplet is stated as such, One short sleep past we wake eternally / and death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die Christians believe that Jesus came down as a sacrifice to end our death so we can live forever. The poem ends with the same promise that is stated at the end of the Bible, He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

Aquinas, St. Thomas, The Summa Theologica, Second and Revised Edition, 1920

Literally translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Online Edition Copyright 2008 by Kevin Knight, http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3020.htm#article1

World Bible Publishing St. Holy Bible. Kansas. Catholic World Press, World Bible Publishers., June 1990

Donne, John. Death Be Not Proud Meyer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature with 2009 MLA Update: Reading, Thinking, Writing. St. Martin's. Bedford. Eighth Edition June 17, 2010.

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