Holy Sonnet X
Death be not proud, though some have called theeMighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
Words in this poem
- dreadfull a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- desperate a.
- Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See Despair, and cf. Desperado.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- eternally adv.
- In an eternal manner.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Holy Sonnet X is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of John Donne, Volume 1 (of 2) Edited from the Old Editions and Numerous Manuscripts, Project Gutenberg ebook #48688; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Donne, Holy Sonnet X, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/holy-sonnet-x.html, id L20851.
Form and metre
Holy Sonnet X is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 A-BAABB-CDDC-- theeA · soe · overthrowB · meeA · beeA · flowB · goeB · deliverie · menC · dwellD · wellD · thenC · eternally · die
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Death be not proud, though some have called thee | 10 | ········˘· |
| Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee. | 10 | ·········· |
| From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And soonest our best men with thee doe goe, | 10 | ·/˘/······ |
| Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie. | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell, | 10 | ·········· |
| And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well, | 11 | ··········· |
| And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 8
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Line 4 mee.] mee; 1633
- Line 5 pictures 1633 and MSS.: picture 1635-69
- Line 8 deliverie.] deliverie 1633-69
- Line 9 Chance, W: chance, 1633-69
- Line 10 dost] doth 1633
- Line 12 better] easier B, O'F, S96, W
- Line 13 wake] live B, S96, W
- Line 14 more; death, Ed: more, death 1633-69
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.