This document summarizes a presentation by Pritiba B. Gohil on the poem "Death Be Not Proud" by John Donne. It provides background on the author and poem, analyzes themes like mortality and religion, and discusses how Donne views death as not powerful but similar to sleep and a slave to forces like fate. It also connects the poem's ideas to the Hindu concept of the immortal soul from the Bhagavad Gita.

1. Name :- Pritiba B. Gohil
Roll No. :- 23
Course No. 1 :- The Renaissance Literature
Presentation Topic :- Poem : Death Be Not Proud
Enrolment No :- PG 14101016
M.A. English Semester - 1
Batch Year :- 2014 - 2016
Submitted to :-
Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

2. Death Be Not Proud
"Death Be Not Proud" is
a poem by English
Metaphysical Poet
“JOHN DONE”, written
around 1610 and first
published
posthumously in 1633.
It is the Tenth Sonnet
in Donne's
posthumously
published Holy
Sonnets.”

3. Death Be Not Proud By John Donne

4. Poem :- Death Be Not Proud
• Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and souls deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate
men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die

5. Themes Of This Poem :-
• Mortality
• Dreams
• Hopes
• Plans
• Religion
• Courage

6. About This Poem :-
• John Donne’s view on this ultimate reality
called “DEATH”.
• Here in this poem poet address to death
saying that there is no need for death to
Be Proud though some people call it very
powerful and dangerous, it is neither
powerful nor dangerous.
• According to John Donne picture of death
is nothing but sleep and rest.

7. Death as a SLAVE :-
• John Donne says that Death is nothing but
merely a slave of this four things.
1.Faith
2.Chance
3.Kings
4.Distress in life.

8. Three Places Where Death
Lives Forever :-
• In this poem John Donne says that Death
lives in these three places forever, this
places are like a home for Death where
death lives.
1. War
2. Poisson
3. Sickness.

9. Hindu Religion Idea In Poem :-

10. Central Idea of
“The Bhagwat Gita” :-
• According to Bhagwat Gita, the Soul, or Atman has the
properties that Weapons cannot pierce it, fire cannot
burn it, water cannot moisten it and wind cannot dry it
(Chapter 2.23).
"nainam chindanti shastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na chainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah"
• (Bhagwat Gita : Chapter Two verse 23)
"Sri Krishna said: The soul can never be cut to pieces
by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by
water, nor withered by the wind.”

11. Conclusion :-
• John Donne concludes his Sonnet saying
that death need not became proud, this
life is one sleep in a sense that it is full of
illusion but death librates us from that
illusion and we wake up forever.
• Donne believes that if death is accepted
with this spirit, there is no death at all.
Death it self would die.

12. • Let’s watch this wonderful poem
“Death Be Not Proud”.

13. Thank You ……