- proudadjectiveChapter 1 →
Arrogantly pleased with one's own power or importance; here used to mean Death should not boast or think itself superior and terrifying.
“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so.”
- theeChapter 1 →
An old-fashioned word for 'you,' used when speaking directly to one person or, here, to a personified figure.
“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so.”
- dreadfuladjectiveChapter 1 →
Inspiring great fear or terror; in this poem it describes the fearsome reputation Death is supposed to have, which the speaker then sets out to disprove.
“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so.”
- thou artphraseChapter 1 →
An archaic way of saying 'you are,' used in Early Modern English when addressing a single person or personified subject directly.
“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee / Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so.”
- picturesnounChapter 1 →
Pale copies or faint likenesses of something; here, rest and sleep are called 'pictures' of death because they resemble it without being the real thing.
“From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, / Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow.”
- butadverbChapter 1 →
Used here in the archaic sense of 'only' or 'merely,' limiting or downplaying what has just been said.
“From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, / Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow.”
- thyadjectiveChapter 1 →
An archaic possessive pronoun meaning 'your,' used when speaking to one person or, as here, to a personified figure such as Death.
“From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, / Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow.”
- must flowphraseChapter 1 →
Must naturally come forth or follow as a logical consequence; the speaker argues that if sleep gives pleasure, then death — being more complete — must produce even greater pleasure.
“From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, / Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow.”
- eternallyadverbChapter 1 →
Without end, lasting forever; here it describes the soul's waking into everlasting life after the brief sleep of death.
“One short sleep past, we wake eternally, / And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.”
- thou shaltphraseChapter 1 →
An archaic construction meaning 'you will' or 'you shall,' carrying a tone of certainty or command, as in a prophecy or decree.
“One short sleep past, we wake eternally, / And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.”
Death, be not proudShort story by John Donne