Interpretations of Death in Poetry: Donne, Whitman, and Oliver

Everyone is going to die; it is a fact of life. Every living thing on this planet will cease to exist at one point or another. John Donne, Walt Whitman, and Mary Oliver all acknowledge this fact in their poetry, but they go beyond the reality of the situation. In “Death Be Not Proud”, John Donne tells Death that it is a slave and eventually it will not be needed. Walt Whitman says that death does not exist and the soul is immortal in “Song of Myself”. Lastly, in “When Death Comes” Oliver describes a vision of life to avoid fearing death. Although everyone dies, death is not powerful or something to be feared because the soul lives forever. Death is not authoritative or compelling; it is a slave to mankind. Drugs and medicine make humans sleep

In “Song of Myself”, he talks about many things including death. He begins by asking, “What do you think has become of the young and old men…[and] women and children?” (Whitman). He implies that death happens to everyone, but goes on to say that, “they are alive and well somewhere, /the smallest sprout shows there is really no death” (Whitman). He believes that the soul lives forever and people do not ever fully leave because they can be found in nature. It is a circle of life, everyone is connected and “all goes onward and outward, nothing collapses” (Whitman). The soul is not altered by death and the body becomes one with the earth after death. He continues to insist that death is not to be feared because it is almost an adventure, saying, “to die is different from what anyone supposed, and luckier” (Whitman). Because people are not fully contained in their bodies, they live on. Most people do not know that the soul is immortal, and that causes fear of death. Whitman affirms the idea that death does not exist because the soul lives

Death is not a formidable force because the soul cannot die. Death is not powerful and in the end of time, it will fade out because humans have eternal life. Furthermore, death is a slave. It has no real power to choose who is going to die. By depreciating death, Donne is reaffirming that death is nothing to be apprehensive about. He considers Death a long slumber and when the dead wake, Death will be no more. Whitman argues that although death claims our bodies, it cannot claim our souls. When we die, our bodies become part of nature. The old and the young are all going to be a part of the earth eventually. Their bodies provide life to other creatures and their souls live forever. The soul cannot be claimed by death. According to Oliver, the way to accept death is to lead a meaningful life. Everyone dies, but death is not frightening because it cannot affect the human