Plunderverse

Death, Be Not Proud by John Donne

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, death, thou shalt die.

Death, Be Proud Done

Death, be proud, though thee
Mighty for thou art so;
For those whom think'st thou dost overthrow
Die death yet canst thou kill me.
From rest which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; thee  more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee go,
Rest of their bones, and  delivery.
Thou art slave to, chance, , and  men,
dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
 why swell'st thou then?
One sleep past, we wake can make us sleep as well
death shall be more, death, thou die.

Common Themes

Both Ben Jonson's "On My First Son," and "Death, Be Not Proud," show a theme of the inevitability of death. Throughout, "On My First Son" this idea is reinforced by a couple of main examples such as, "My sin was too much hope of thee[.]" In this example we see Jonson's regret or reflecting on how he could have done things differently, also in this line we can see Jonson beginning to come to terms with his sons death.

Furthermore, "Death, Be Not Proud" reflects this idea as well. This is evident within this example,"For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow" This quote brings forth the idea that people think that can cheat or escape death,when in reality it is an inevitable truth. 

Tone and Ozymandias

In Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ozymandias" Shelley's tone of pity is revealed through the symbolism, and imagery. Shelley achieves this with the use of the of the images of the crumbled stone statue, and the symbolism of the ruin around the statue.

The imagery of the crumbled stone statue, in "Ozymandias" "two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert . . . near them, on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown." this image gives the reader a tone of pity for the once great king Ozymandias. Shelley is successful in using this imagery to reveal his poetic tone of pity towards Ozymandias.