Death Be Not Proud And I Heard A Fly Buzz-When I Died

Death is the inevitable and unavoidable conclusion to life. Someone long ago said that upon birth, we’re committed to a life sentence. We never know when we’ll die, or how, but we know it will happen. The gaping maw of the Grim Reaper stalks our every waking moment and movement. Death can also be an instrument by which we measure the value and worth of our lives. In both “Death be not proud” John Donne and “I Heard a Fly Buzz--When I Died--" by Emily Dickinson they share a common theme of death not just in the title but in the content of the poem. In John Donne’s poem the speaker speaks to death as if he is a real person. In Emily Dickinson’s poem the narrator seems to be dying and is accepting that fact that he is dying but isn’t sure what

is killing him. The common theme of death is expressed in the poems using imagery, figures of speech, and form. Poetry is literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. In both “Death be not proud” John Donne and “I Heard a Fly Buzz--When I Died--" by Emily Dickinson they share a common theme of death not just in the title but in the content of the poem. In John Donne’s poem the speaker speaks to death as if he is a real person. In Emily Dickinson’s poem the narrator seems to be dying and is accepting that fact that he is dying and what will happens after we die. The common theme of death is expressed in the poems using imagery, figures of speech, and form.
“Death be not Proud” begins with Right off the bat, the speaker starts talking smack to Death, whom he treats as a person. He tells Death not to be so proud, because he’s really not as scary or powerful as most people think. The speaker starts talking in contradictions, saying that people don’t really die when they meet Death – and neither will the speaker. Then, he really tries to burn Death’s biscuit by comparing him to "rest and sleep," two things that aren’t scary at all. The speaker claims that "only the good die young," because the best people know that death brings pleasure, not pain. The speaker goes throughout the story using figures of speech to convey the message of death he says “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men.” He compares death to a slave. The speaker uses a bit of irony in the poem saying “And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die,” He basically is trying to pronounce death dead but death never lied. John Donne writes the poem in a rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA CDDC EE.