"Death, be not proud" by John Donne

"One short sleep passed, we wake eternally, / And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die."

Wow. I've never read a poem about a person standing up to death before. This speaker genuinely is staring death right in the face and is claiming to rise above death's threats. This is somewhat contradictory to the majority in society because most people fear death more than anything else in the world. The central theme of this poem is that the speaker is certain that he will overcome the obstacles that death is putting in front of him. The tone of the poem is persistent because the speaker is adamant that he will win the battle against death. This tone is conveyed due to the speaker's diction. The speaker uses series a lot in this poem. For example, the speaker says, " some have called thee mighty and dreadful." The speaker uses more than one adjective to describe death. Also, the speaker says, "Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men." Here, the speaker is saying that death gets the best of fate and chances. Death also gets the best of kings and desperate men who get too involved with fame or other desires to realize what truly matters in the world today. The poem flows in the sense that every other line rhymes; however, these lines of rhyme all contain much depth and insight. I also sense some irony in this passage because he says that "death shalt die." Is this possible? Can death die?