“Death, Be Not Proud” – By John Donne

About the Author:

John Donne (June 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a         clergy in the Church of England. He is the founder of metaphysical poets. Metaphysical poets meditate on love, death, god, and human through use of conceits and wit. He believes in resurrection so he thinks death has no threat. His poems are usually written    about religious subjects.

 In the poem “Death, Be Not Proud”, poet John Donne’s inclusion of personification, irony, and indirect characterization depicts the speaker’s opinion of death. In doing so, Donne suggests that death is simply an obstacle in the long – term of eternal life.

  

The poem is begins as challenging but as the narrator’s one – sided conversation with Death goes on it turns to blatant belittlement and disregard.

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

The speaker is telling Death should not be proud, even though some have called death mighty and scary, but it is not so.

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

   Death believes that it is “overthrowing” people, when actually one does not die. Although death claims to kill people, people cannot die and neither can the narrator.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

    In this stanza Donne compares death with rest and sleep, which are not scary. He says that Death will bring pleasure, not pain.

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

    Even when men do die, Death can only acquire the bodies, not the souls. The souls will transcend to heaven. So, the best men willingly go to death and they rest their bones and their should go to heaven.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell

    Donne says Death is a slave because it is under the control of mortal individuals (kings and desperate men). Death is also vulgar because it uses poison, war, and sickness to get what it wants.

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

    Poppies and charms cause sleepiness too. Donne questions Death how it can feel so pompous of itself when other harmless objects create the same effects as it creates. This means Death is at the same level as poppies and charms.

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

    Death gives a short sleep. We should not worry because we will be resurrected into another human being so we will “wake eternally” Therefore Death will die. In heaven, where a person’s soul stays there, death does not exist which causes Death to “Die”

    So, we can say that the purpose of the poem is to convey a sense of comfort when discussing a topic like death, which certainly has some uncomfortable and even frightening associations. The document explains that death need not be feared, and through logical conclusions the speaker removes Death’s power.

“Hamlet” – By Shakespeare

About The Author:

Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford, England. He was joined an acting company (Lord Chamberlain’s Men) When the theaters repined in 1594. Shakespeare writes in blank verse using iambic pentameter to distinguish his more educated characters from the more common people. He uses sophisticated and original vocabulary. He writes a lot of soliloquies to convey the thoughts of the characters to the audience. During his life, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets! Apart from writing his numerous plays and sonnets, Shakespeare was also an actor who performed many of his own plays. He uses subplots to add to his themes, further the main plot and keep the reader involved.

“Hamlet”:

Hamlet takes place mainly in Elsinore, Denmark. They are placed in Denmark but, because of Shakespeare’s confusing subplot, there are many different settings. Wherever the setting is, it sets the mood as being eerie mysterious, tragic, dramatic, and scary.

Characters:

1)    Hamlet: Represents the ideal renaissance man, he is very dramatic, educated, mischievous, determined.

2)    Claudius: Represents corruption, sin and murder. He is deceitful, selfish, and evil.

3)    Gertrude: Impure because of her affair with Claudius, but innocent in King Hamlet’s death, and  she is very caring, compassionate.

4)    Ophelia: She dies first – starts the tragedy and is possibly a reason for Hamlet’s madness.

5)    Polonius: Represents manipulation and corruption within the Kingdom, and control freak and snaky, etc…

Madness of Hamlet:

Hamlet pretends to be crazy to investigate his father’s murder. But while he pretends to be mad, the world around him goes mad:

-       His uncle killed his brother

-       His mother married the killer of his husband

Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark, who has recently lost his father, the King. Hamlet's uncle, Claudius, has married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, and taken the throne. One night, Hamlet is persuaded by some guards to go to see his father's ghost. The ghost reveals to Hamlet that Claudius murdered him, and asks Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet swears to do this, informing his friend , Horatio, and the guards of his plan.

Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but she ignores him because her father (Polonius) and her brother (Laertes) suggested her to do so. After the declaration of the ghost, Hamlet's attitude changes and everyone believes that he is mad. Polonius and Claudius both believe that this madness comes from Hamlet's love for Ophelia.

An acting troupe comes into town, and Hamlet orders them to perform a play in which the brother of the king kills the king. Hamlet arranges the performance to be acted out in the same way that Claudius killed Hamlet's father. Horatio and Hamlet watch closely: Claudius is unable to watch and stops the play.

Claudius asks Gertrude to speak with Hamlet, then sends Polonius to spy on the conversation. Hamlet hears Polonius and blindly stabs through a tapestry, killing him. Everyone is now convinced of Hamlet's complete madness, and he is sent to England. Ophelia goes mad because of her father's death, and in her madness, kills herself.

Laertes is angry with Hamlet for both Polonius ' and Ophelia's deaths. In his anger, Laertes conspires with Claudius to kill Hamlet, who is on his way back from England. Laertes challenges Hamlet to a duel, where Laertes has a poisoned sword. In case Laertes fails, Claudius has prepared a poisoned cup. 

Gertrude accidentally drinks from the poisoned cup and dies. Laertes wounds Hamlet, then they accidentally switch swords and Hamlet injures Laertes. Mortally wounded, Laertes reveals Claudius' plan. Hamlet then stabs Claudius and makes him drink from the poisoned cup. As Hamlet is dying, he tells the truth of everything to Horatio.

“Mourning Becomes Electra” – By Eugene O’Neill

“Morning Becomes Electra” is a play cycle written by American Playwright Eugene O’Neill in 1922. The story of this play is a retelling of the Oresteia by Aeschylus of Greek tragedies. This play is sbout modern Mannon family and it’s divided into three plays. This play is connected with “Freudian” perspecrive of psychological theory. 

The title refer to how the lead character is condmned to a life mourning the disasters that befall her family.And meaning of the title is to the expression of sorrow for someone’s death, grief. Lament.

This play set in post – civil war period just as Ezra and Orin return from fighting. The mannon family are well known in new England for their wealth and power. And in this play unfortunately, hate between family members causes conflict.

This play views Man on family of new England. Ezra-manonn has participate in the civil war and the mother Christine and daughter Lavinia. She has visited Newyork where her mother is supposed to go on the pretext of her father’s illness but she has been meeting Adam Brant. Shre informed her brother Orin about her mother.Orin was in love with Hazel and peter was Peter was in love with Lavinia. Adam Brant’s mother has been ill-treted and he would like to be avenged on the Manon family.Ezra Manon is sick and in place of medicine Christine poised him. The difference between mother and daughter increases.

Lavinia gives minute details regarding Christine in the room where her father’s dead body has lying. Lavinia and Orin follow Christine to ship in which she has gone warn Brant against Orin shots Brant. The next day Christine committed sucide.

Orin and Lavinia are back after visiting from South East. Lavinia wanted Orin to marry Hazel but her wish could not be fulfilled. She herself wanted to marry Peter but this wise of here remained unfulfilled. Orin shoots himself. She decided to share the fate of other Mannon and she orders the curtains on the window to be drawn to exclude the sunlight. She decides to remain in her house till her death. Lavinia exemplifies the title by turning herself into a vessel of mourning at the end. Also, the idea of mourning becomes the Mannon family because they are not fated to be happy. By working so incredibly hard to keep the annon image alive, lavinia dooms the family to a life of punishment. When she forces an exceptional mask upon her brother, his guilt just increases.

“Waiting For Godot” – By Samuel Beckett

The play Waiting for Godot, written and translated by author Samuel Beckett chronically ordered in a short period of time, depict the lives of two homeless men named Estragon and Vladimir. These men are seemingly waiting for a mysterious man named Godot who they feel will bring them some form of libreration or progress.

Play takes place on a country road next to a leafless tree. The time and place are unknown to the reader. Barren and empty setting represent the character isolation . And the allusion in the play is the tree in the setting that’s provides great significance. 

Characters of the Play:

Vladimir: One of the two main characters of the play. Estragon calls him Didi, and the boy addresses him as Mr. Albert. He seems to be the more responsible and mature of the two main characters.

Estragon: The second of the two main characters. Vladimir calls him Gogo. He seems weak and helpless, always looking for Vladimir's protection. He also has a poor memory, as Vladimir has to remind him in the second act of the events that happened the previous night.

Pozzo: He passes by the spot where Vladimir and Estragon are waiting and provides a diversion. In the second act, he is blind and does not remember meeting Vladimir and Estragon the night before.

Lucky: Pozzo's slave, who carries Pozzo's bags and stool. In Act I, he entertains by dancing and thinking. However, in Act II, he is dumb.

Little Boy: He appears at the end of each act to inform Vladimir that Godot will not be coming that night. In the second act, he insists that he was not there the previous night.

Godot: The man for whom Vladimir and Estragon wait unendingly. Godot never appears in the play. His name and character are often thought to refer to God. Godot is interpreted in many ways. But the interpretation that is most accepted is the one where Godot represents the God of christianity.

Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot. While they wait, two other men enter. Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell his slave, Lucky. He pauses for a while to converse with Vladimir and Estragon. Lucky entertains them by dancing and thinking, and Pozzo and Lucky leave.

After Pozzo and Lucky leave, a boy enters and tells Vladimir that he is a messenger from Godot. He tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir asks him some questions about Godot and the boy departs. After his departure, Vladimir and Estragon decide to leave, but they do not move as the curtain falls.

The next night, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for Godot. Lucky and Pozzo enter again, but this time Pozzo is blind and Lucky is dumb. Pozzo does not remember meeting the two men the night before. They leave and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait.

Shortly after, the boy enters and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming. He insists that he did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After he leaves, Estragon and Vladimir decide to leave, but again they do not move as the curtain falls, ending the play.