"Death, be not proud"-John Donne

     I feel that Donne's "Death, be not proud" is a sort of testament to the saying "only the good die young", or vice versa.  In this poem, death is neither a positive nor negative experience.  The speaker explains that death is not as horrific as culture has made it out to be.  I also believe the speaker cannot accept death as a dreadful experience if "And soonest our best men with thee do go," (Donne, 971).  This sonnet attempts to decrease the amount of power death has over the audience.  The speaker refers to death as a "slave".  In truth, death cannot be all that powerful if fate, chance, and men have the ability to utilize it as punishment.  I think this is meant to take away the sense of godliness associated with death.  In the final lines, the speaker makes a somewhat religious reference when he says "One short sleep passes, we wake eternally" (Donne, 972).  Death, in this sense, is not a powerful force; rather, God pulling us into eternity with him is where the force is strongest.

"That time of year"-William Shakespeare

     As I read this poem, I was confused over whether this poem focused on the literal or figurative death of the speaker.  By figurative death, I am suggesting the death of the speaker's spirit or youth.  Many aspects of this sonnet emphasize the fact that there used to be something where there is now nothing.  "In me though see'st the glowing of such fire, That on the ashes of his youth doth lie" (Shakespeare, 967).   This leads me to believe that the speaker is not discussing death in a literal manner.
     As the sonnet progresses, the reader sees a change in the pace of "death".  In the first quatrain, the speaker uses branches and their leaves to symbolize death.  Throughout the seasons of autumn and winter, trees take time to lose their leaves, to lose their sign of life.  In the second quatrain, the sunset represents death.  Though much faster than trees losing their leaves, a sunset is not rapid per-say.  However, death is symbolized by fire and ashes in the third quatrain.  Burning is an extremely rapid occurrence.  This change in pace, to me, suggests that once one starts to lose one aspect of their life, others start deteriorating.  For example, youth takes time to leave in the past.  Liveliness could follow in youth's footsteps and be ridded of a bit faster.  Following liveliness, the zest for life could quickly dissipate.