Theme of Mortality in Death Be Not Proud and Because I Could Not Stop for Death In both poems, Death Be Not Proud and Because I Could Not Stop for Death, mortality was a significant theme that introduced the meaning of both of the works. Mortality is defined in the Oxford-English dictionary as “The act or fact of dying; the end of life; the permanent cessation of the vital functions of a person, animal, plant, or other organism. Also: an instance of this; (with specification) a manner of dying” (OED). This definition describes how everyone is mortal until death—these authors used mortality to portray their thoughts about death while they are still living. Both authors, John Donne and Emily Dickinson chose to write their poems using the theme of mortality to portray their thoughts on death.
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Donne compares death to sleep, inferring that it is not that scary. In the end of the poem, Donne wrote “One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.” (604) which he used to show the reader that he believes in the eternal afterlife. Throughout his poem, Donne criticized death, speaking to him like a person, and made the reader come to the assumption that he was not scared of death. Donne rebelled against Death, because he did not consider Death “All mighty” like he has been said to be. The quote “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so” (604) showed the reader that Donne believed that Death is not as mighty and scary as he is perceived to be. It was shown “In the concluding sestet, the poet lambasts death’s proud posturing, explaining that death cannot choose its victim but must rely on the whims of fate and human decision”
Donne compares death to sleep, inferring that it is not that scary. In the end of the poem, Donne wrote “One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.” (604) which he used to show the reader that he believes in the eternal afterlife. Throughout his poem, Donne criticized death, speaking to him like a person, and made the reader come to the assumption that he was not scared of death. Donne rebelled against Death, because he did not consider Death “All mighty” like he has been said to be. The quote “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so” (604) showed the reader that Donne believed that Death is not as mighty and scary as he is perceived to be. It was shown “In the concluding sestet, the poet lambasts death’s proud posturing, explaining that death cannot choose its victim but must rely on the whims of fate and human decision”