Death Be Not Proud

A detailed Summary of Death Be Not Proud


One of the most ironic characteristics of life is death. Except for the two biblical references of Elijah and Enoch in the Old Testament, all men have succumbed to death. While death is the inevitable and natural course of life, few look forward to this formidable and fearsome certainty. The speaker in the sonnet, "Death, Be Not Proud," reduces prideful death from a powerful force of defeat to a vehicle between life and life eternal. Through the use of personification and other literary techniques, the speaker is able to defame death of its pride by showing the transience of death itself.

Imagery is the backbone on which this sonnet is composed, for without such imagery, Death could not be overcome. As soon as the speaker personifies Death, he


Death not only takes the appearance of a lowly man, but it also takes the humble situation of a slave. Humiliation has a way of deflating the pride that once filled a man's sails. Death has no control over whom it affects; it cannot pick and choose and thereby illustrate sovereign power over man. No, Death is a slave to such things as chance, war, and suicide - all these circumstances must provide bodies for Death to claim as its own. And still the dead Death holds only give it the status of a slave living among pestilence. Because Death depends on man to supply it with power and has no authority to give it precedence over life, Death is just held captive to man's choices and therefore has no dominion over life.

Death is seen as an end, but it is only a mea

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 515
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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