Death Be Not Proud (Holy Sonnet 10)
John Donne addresses death as a powerless braggart and argues that, for the faithful, it is only a short sleep before eternal waking. A reading of Holy Sonnet 10’s argument, form, and famous closing paradox.
Theme
john donne
2 poems
john donne
The Flea
A man argues a woman into bed using a flea that bit them both. It’s the most dazzling sophistry in English, and a sly comedy in which she acts while he only talks, kills the flea, and demolishes his logic with a fingernail.