Death in "Holy Sonnet 10" and "To An Athlete Dying Young"
... thing that links the two poems is the fact that both look at death as something more than just dying. In "Holy Sonnet 10", death is just a gateway into spending eternity in heaven. "One short sleep past, we wake eternally,/ And death shall be no more" (Lines 13-14). In "To An Athlete Dying Young", the young athlete that dies lives on "forever" in the hearts of all his fans. If the athlete had grown old, he would have seen younger, stronger, athletes pass him by and break his records. "Eyes...Cannot see the record cut". Since he died at the height of his career, with his winning and his popularity at a peak, the athlete will always be remembered as a champion. One of the ways in which the poems are different is in their view of death. In "To An Athlete Dying Young", The athlete is acknowledged as being dead and "in the ground". Death is a notion in this poem. There is very little mention of a soul, heaven, hell or an afterlife whatsoever." This contrasts sharply with "Holy Sonnet 10". In this poem, Death is personified as a person. It is as though the author talks to death about it's eventual demise. Once we are gone, so is death. We move on to the after life and thus, there comes eternal life in heaven. "And soonest our best men with [death] do go,/ Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery" (Lines 7-8) The tone and mood of both poems is another contradictory property of both poems. In "Holy Sonnet 10" The tone is one of anger and vengence. The speaker is tearing death down("Death be not pr...