And More Death / Metaphors - Poetry Blog 2 (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, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me."

~ John Donne, Death, Be Not Proud

This poem is filled with metaphors. The most significant metaphor relates to death and religion. Throughout the poem, there is an image of Jesus' crucifixion. It talks about how death cannot conquer a human, even if he does die - "die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me." This is metaphorical for how Jesus died on the cross to save all of us and help us achieve salvation. Also, the poem says "one short sleep passed, we wake eternally, and death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die." This sounds pretty familiar - the message is in the Gospel. Jesus died, just as we all will die (the short sleep passed), but then, he gave us everlasting life (we wake eternally), because he conquered death (death, thou shalt die). These metaphors teach to not be afraid of death because we will all be saved and live forever in the end.