Blog #9, Poem #5:

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,	5
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,	10
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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, I think the narrator wants to die. Or, at least, he's not against death/dying. "Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me." If death dies, the narrator can't die; therefore, he wants death to live, which is quite paradoxical. Or is it an oxymoron? I think it's a paradox. Life is hard. The narrator describes that in saying, "Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men." Is he saying that all of people/beings get in the way of Death's work. At first, I thought the narrator was saying that people are "slaves" to "Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men," but now I think he is talking about death being controlled by them. But, wouldn't Fate and Death work together? I guess Fate over rules Death, so in that case, Death could be Fate's slave. "Death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die." When a person dies, death is no longer in their future. So, in a way, the only way to defeat death is to die. That is when one is totally free, not only from death, but from "Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men." "Death thou shalt die." That is very ironic. The narrator has completely defeated death at that point. He's saying, "Death you shall die, and I will be forever free."