John Donne: The Death of Death
...e capable of being attacking through logical reasoning, just as any foe in a debate is. The speaker argues that sleep and rest are small copies of death, and that both are pleasurable – therefore Death must b even more pleasurable: “From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, / Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,” (10:5-6). Donne also holds that Death is a slave, personifying it as a servant effectively places it below others in society and makes it less intimidating: “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,” (10:9). By placing Death below even “desperate men,” Donne succeeds in transforming a frightening concept into just another aspect of human life – essentially making it equivalent to any other threat that one might face in the streets (10:9). Shakespeare’s interpretation of the nature of dying is much different in that he views it as something that can be avoided. Though clearly discussing the notion of an afterlife in his sonnet, the ability to kill death falls in line with Donne’s personification of the idea: “And Death, once dead, there’s no more dying then.” (146:14). Shakespeare references the end of death’s reign, the end of days, as the ultimate event in human history – strengthening his self-reflection on why he acts as he does. He attempts to advise his soul in the poem: “Then soul, live thou upon thy servant’s loss, / And let that pine to aggravate thy store; / Buy terms divine in selling hours of dross” (146: 9-11). Shakespeare questions the reasoning behind his caring for the external when life is so short and why he cares little for the internal, for the soul, when there is the matter of an after-life to prepare for. Both sonnets view Death as something that can be beaten, overcome just as easily as any foe if enough effort is put into the fight. Shakespeare contends that it is something that can be defeated if enough preparation is made for the soul to achieve peace in death while Donne argues that it is a minor event in the grand scheme of things. Shakespeare seeks for his soul to heed his well thought out warnings so that it will gain existence beyond death – treating it as its own being in order to free himself from any blame for its actions. His body, as it were, exists at the expense of the soul – worrying about things like vanity while the spirit suffers. Donne does not address the path to eternal life as Shakespeare does, but instead comforts the reader concerning the impact of death....