Dom Kaufman

Per. 4

Death, thou art rest.

Holy Sonnet 6, written by John Donne, deals with death and how it is not so bad and should be

welcomed rather than feared. One of the first things Donne does to establish this is he personifies Death

as to be able to have a conversation as you would with a fellow man. The idea of conversing with

Death brings it down to eye level with you and is easier to accept. Treating death as a person shows the

metaphysical poet style of comparing two dissimilar things by bringing the idea that death, one that

kills men, is a man himself. Donne then tells Death, “from rest, and sleep which but thy pictures be,/

much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow”(lines 6-7). Since sleep is a pleasurable

experience, and death is nothing but an extended rest, we should enjoy it for it will be much better than

a short rest. Seeing Death as an enjoyable experience won't let us give him the satisfactory of fear that

he prides himself on. Line two marks the caesura after “...dreadful// for thought art not so” This

changes the rapid pace of the first line to a little slower. He uses longer vowels, “O” and “U” sounds. “

for those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow” (line 3). This slower speed adds to the mood of

being comfortable with Death as he is just a peer to Donne now. At the volta, Donne starts to tell Death

that he isn't so big and scary, but is rather a slave to circumstance. It also changes from long vowels to

shorter “i” and “a” sounds, “though art slave to war, chance, kings, and desperate men” (line 9). This

starts to belittle Death by using a short tone, further showing he isn't afraid by being able to, essentially,

make fun of him. On the last lines, Donne says “one short sleep past, we wake eternally/and death shall

be no more; Death, thou shalt die” (lines 13-14). He says that when Death kills us, we actually wake

eternally in the afterlife and through this Death himself dies. The paradox of death dying is another

metaphysical poem attribute. The poem flows from beginning to end with anger, softness, harshness,

and then a happy end, telling Death that he is the one that dies in the end of it all.