Poetry Analysis: "Death Be Not Proud"

“Death Be Not Proud,” by John Donne, is an interesting look at death as a whole. The poet is stating that death should not feel powerful or proud because human beings do not die but live eternally after “one short sleep past.” When researching more about this poem, I came across someone stating that Donne had smallpox when he wrote this poem. Having that knowledge, I can interpret that Donne was trying to be optimistic about his inevitable fate. I like Donne’s view on death, seeing it as an actual object, and then telling Death he is not scared of him. Because in Donne’s view, we do not die but live forever in Heaven.