Holy Sonnet #10
I enjoyed reading this poem because of the way it cleverly mocks death. It manages to take this scary concept and cut it down to size. First Donne compares death to sleep, which is a common way of looking at death, the big sleep. But instead of seeing it as a negative, he reminds the reader that sleep is a good thing. Sleep rejuvenates us and can bring pleasant dreams. He then calls death a “slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,” Meaning that death itself is not the agent that causes demise, it is simply the result of bad luck, wars, and murderers, and sickness. He then compares the effect of death to the effects of opium which was a common drug. And finally declares that death itself shall die, presumably through faith and religion.
Tangled up in Blue
What I noticed about this poem is when you read it aloud, it seems a bit choppy. There is no set rhyme scheme except for the last two lines of each stanza. But then when you listen to the song by Bob Dylan, he changes the tempo and sings it in a way that makes sense. And what a great voice he has!
Facing It
This poem does a good job of mixing reality and illusion. The speaker seems to be fading in and out of reality. This is exemplified best when he imagines that the woman standing next to him is trying to erase the names from the Vietnam memorial, when she is actually just brushing her son’s hair.
David
