Advertisements
Advertisements
प्रश्न
Analyse the comparison between death and sleep in the poem, Death Be Not Proud. How does this metaphor contribute to the overall message of the sonnet? Write your answer in about 200-250 words.
Advertisements
उत्तर
John Donne's sonnet "Death Be Not Proud" employs the metaphor of death as sleep to diminish its perceived power and terror, ultimately conveying the message of death's defeat and the promise of eternal life. The poem begins by addressing Death directly, asserting that it should not be proud or fearful, as it is merely a transition, much like sleep. This common comparison is foundational to the poem's argument, as sleep is a temporary state of rest and rejuvenation, suggesting that death, too, is not an end but a temporary phase.
Donne uses specific words and imagery to underscore the similarity between death and sleep. He refers to death as "rest" and "sleep," which are associated with peace and relief from the pains of life. This portrayal minimizes death's frightful connotations, making it seem gentle and benign. The imagery of sleep, a daily and natural occurrence, helps to demystify death and strip it of its dread.
Furthermore, Donne portrays death as weak and susceptible through imagery and word choice. He describes death as a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men," highlighting its lack of autonomy and power. Death is also compared to "poppy or charms," suggesting it is no more potent than medicinal sleep aids, further diminishing its strength.
The poem's most powerful argument lies in the concept of eternal life. Donne declares that after death, the soul awakens to eternal life, thus negating death's power entirely. The final lines, "One short sleep past, we wake eternally / And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die," reinforce this idea. The downscaling of death's power and terror is constant throughout the poem, reducing it to a mere momentary pause before eternal awakening.
In conclusion, the metaphor of death as sleep in "Death Be Not Proud" is central to Donne's message that death is neither powerful nor to be feared. By equating death with sleep, employing imagery to show death's weakness, and emphasizing the promise of eternal life, Donne conveys that death can be overcome and defeated, offering a comforting perspective on the afterlife.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Answer this question in 30–40 words.
Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.
Have you ever had to make a difficult choice (or do you think you will have difficult choices to make)? How will you make the choice (for what reasons)?
Name all the people who are tried in the king’s court, and give the reasons for their trial.
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
What does he mean by the ‘inward eye’?
The blocks were all lined up for those who would use them
The hundred-yard dash and the race to be run
These were nine resolved athletes in back of the starting line
Poised for the sound of the gun.
The signal was given, the pistol exploded
And so did the runners all charging ahead
But the smallest among them,he stumbled and staggered
And fell to the asphalt instead.
He gave out a cry in frustration and anguish
His dreams ands his efforts all dashed in the dirt
But as sure I'm standing here telling this story
The same goes for what next occurred.
Read the lines given above and answer the following question:
Who do you think are the competitors? How do you know which is the event mentioned?
“I love the West,” said the girl irrelevantly. Her eyes were shining softly. She looked away out the car window. She began to speak truly and simply without the gloss of style and manner: “Mamma and I spent the summer in Deliver. She went home a week ago
because father was slightly ill. I could live and be happy in the West. I think the air here agrees with me. Money isn’t everything. But people always misunderstand things and remain stupid—” “Say, Mr. Marshal,” growled the glum-faced man. “This isn’t quite fair. I’m needing a drink, and haven’t had a smoke all day. Haven’t you talked long enough? Take me in the smoker now, won’t you? I’m half dead for a pipe.”
The bound travellers rose to their feet, Easton with the Same slow smile on his face. “I can’t deny a petition for tobacco,” he said, lightly. “It’s the one friend of the unfortunate. Good-bye, Miss Fairchild. Duty calls, you know.” He held out his hand for a farewell. “It’s too bad you are not going East,” she said, reclothing herself with manner and style. “But you must go on to Leavenworth, I suppose?” “Yes,” said Easton, “I must go on to Leavenworth.”
The two men sidled down the aisle into the smoker. The two passengers in a seat near by had heard most of the conversation. Said one of them: “That marshal’s a good sort of chap. Some of these Western fellows are all right.” “Pretty young to hold an office like that, isn’t he?” asked the other. “Young!” exclaimed the first speaker, “why—Oh! didn’t you catch on? Say—did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?”
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Why is Fairchild heading east?
At Denver there was an influx of passengers into the coaches on the eastbound B. & M. express. In one coach there sat a very pretty young woman dressed in elegant taste and surrounded by all the luxurious comforts of an experienced traveler. Among the newcomers were two young men, one of handsome presence with a bold, frank countenance and manner; the other a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. The two were handcuffed together.
As they passed down the aisle of the coach the only vacant seat offered was a reversed one facing the attractive young woman. Here the linked couple seated themselves. The young woman’s glance fell upon them with a distant, swift disinterest; then with a lovely smile brightening her countenance and a tender pink tingeing her rounded cheeks, she held out a little gray-gloved hand. When she spoke her voice, full, sweet, and deliberate, proclaimed that its owner was accustomed to speak and be heard.
“Well, Mr. Easton, if you will make me speak first, 1 suppose 1 must. Don’t vou ever recognize old friends when you meet them in the West?”
The younger man roused himself sharply at the sound of her voice, seemed to struggle with a slight embarrassment which he threw off instantly, and then clasped her fingers with his left hand.
He slightly raised his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining “bracelet” to the left one of his companion.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What was the reaction of the young women to them initially? Why did her manner change?
Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savoury smell of roast goose, for it was New-year’s eve—yes, she remembered that. In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold; and
she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money. Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags. Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out—“scratch!” how it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. How the fire burned! and seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Why could the girl not go home?
She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance. “Grandmother,” cried the little one, “O take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas-tree.” And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon-day, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God.
In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall; she had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year; and the New-year’s sun rose and shone upon a little corpse! The child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt. “She tried to warm herself,” said some. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother, on New-year’s day.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What happened to the little girl? What did the people think?
What does the poet mean when lie compares the world to a battlefield? What should our role be in this battle?
Describe the stranger who came to the pet shop. What did he want?
The king forgave the bearded man. What did he do to show his forgiveness?
Answer the following question.
Why is it good to have rebels?
Who is Mridu and with whom Mridu went to Rukku Manni’s place?
Name five ancient things collected by Mr Wonka.
Who was Abbu Khan?
What did the Keepers of the zoo reveal to the narrator’s grandfather?
The king rewarded the shepherd twice. How and why?
What was the problem of the two shoppers? What were they going to try?
What happens when the winds blow?
Who is the ‘he’ in the line "I couldn’t quite hear what he said" of the extract?
Word in the box given below indicates a large number of… For example, ‘a herd of cows’ refers to many cows. Complete the following phrase with a suitable word from the box.
a _______________ of cattle
Multiple Choice Question:
Why does the flier have to run?
Multiple Choice Question:
What does the expression leave their greens’ mean?
Bring out the relevance/significance of the banyan tree in the title of Ruskin Bond’s story.
Multiple Choice Question:
According to the poet, a lot is left unsaid because of _________.
Now let us look at the uses of the word break. Match the word with its meanings below. Try to find out at least three other ways in which to use the word.
- The storm broke – could not speak; was too sad to speak
- Daybreak – this kind of weather ended
- His voice is beginning to break – it began or burst into activity
- Her voice broke and she cried – the beginning of daylight
- The heat wave broke – changing as he grows up
- Broke the bad news – end it by making the workers submit
- Break a strike – gently told someone the bad news
- (Find your own expression. Give its meaning here)
|
Antonio: |
(Aside to Sebastian) Let it be tonight; |
What does Antonio refer to when he says “Let it be tonight...” in Act III, Scene iii of the play, The Tempest?
In the poem, John Brown, John Brown drops his medals into his mother's hands because ______.
In what ways does the speaker’s cultural background clash with the landlady’s expectations in the poem Telephone Conversation? Write your answer in 100-150 words incorporating the following details.
- The speaker’s conversation with the landlady
- The undertones of racial and colour bias in the conversation
