1. By John Donne Life: 1572-1631 Jack Haseman Austin Guerrettaz Courtney Morris Isaac Hoffman HOLY SONNET X

2. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Born in London, England Studied at Oxford University He was an Anglican priest Poetry contains startling contrasts Founder of Metaphysical poets Death was a major part of his life (p. 508)

3. Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou are 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,

4. 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.

5. Metaphysical Sonnet Uses metaphysical conceits Has 14 Lines and 10 syllables per line The Sonnet form is a variation of a Petrarchan Sonnet Rhyme Scheme: Abbaabbacddcaa Literary devices: Eye rhyme Metaphysical conceit (p. 513 l. 5-6) Tone: Hopeful

6. IMPORTANT INFORMATION Fathered twelve children Five of the twelve died before they reached twenty years old and two of those died at birth Married his boss’s seventeen year old daughter when he was twenty-five. She ended up dying at the age of 33.

7. WORKS CITED McDougal Littell Literature: British Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2009. Print Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014.