English

Heidy Bradford

14 September, 18:27

Read the following excerpt from "death, be not proud" by john donne:

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.

what is the role of the paradox in these lines?

a. to show that even seemingly eternal things are temporary

b. to reveal a contradiction between violence and affection

c. to associate death with various horrors that humans must endure

d. to give non-human things, such as death, human characteristics