Death, be not proud

"Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Might and dreadful, for thou art not so;"
"Death, be not proud"
John Donne


Question number 3 asks if the man is stating that death is not to be feared, or if he is trying to convince himself that there is no fear in death. This poem is most likely about a man of assured faith with a firm conviction that death is not to be feared. He is not afraid of death because he states things such as, "nor yet canst thou kill me," meaning he does not think death will actually kill himself- it will only kill his body. In the above excerpt, he claims that it's not might and dreadful too. He accepts that death is a part of life and regards it as "One short sleep passed," instead of a painful, miserable way to end life. The last line states, "thou shalt die," further conveying the point that the speaker does not fear death; he is aware that death is inevitable. The "soonest our best men with thee do go" means that everyone will face impending death someday, whether you are wealthy or poor, or sick or healthy. Overall, the speaker is claiming that death should not be proud because its power is rather limited, because it does not, in a sense, kill our souls. "We wake eternally" may imply that after death, an afterlife exists, such as Heaven or purgatory.