Death be not proud | Death be not proud, though some have called thee

by John Donne (1572 - 1631)

Death be not proud, though some have...

Language: English

Our translations: FRE GER GER ITA

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for thou art not soe,
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor [yet canst thou]¹ kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do goe,
Rest of their bones, and souls deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sickness dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well 
And better than thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• R. Bennett

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Bennett: "nor canst thou yet"

Text Authorship:

by John Donne (1572 - 1631), no title, appears in Holy Sonnets, no. 10 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Atli Heimir Sveinsson (b. 1938), "Death, be not proud", 1978, published c1980 [ mixed chorus a cappella ], from Two Elegies in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, for mixed choir, no. 1, Reykjavik : Islenzk Tónverkamidstód [sung text not yet checked]
by Richard Rodney Bennett (1936 - 2012), "Death be not proud", from Tenebrae, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Death be not proud", op. 35 no. 9 (1945), published c1946 [ high voice and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Mervyn Burtch (b. 1929), "Death be not proud", published 1976 [ four-part mixed chorus a cappella ], from Three Sonnets of John Donne [sung text not yet checked]
by Donald Busarow (b. 1934), "Death, be not proud", 1979 [ soprano, horn, and piano ], IHS Manuscript Press [sung text not yet checked]
by Leslie Crabtree (b. 1941), "Death be not proud", 2004 [ vocal duet with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Olivier Greif (1950 - 2000), "Death be not proud", op. 310 no. 3 (1995) [ voice and piano ], from Les chants de l'âme, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Death be not proud", 2013, first performed 2014 [ tenor and piano ], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne - 9 Songs for Tenor and Piano, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Fenno Heath , "Death be not proud", 1963 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Donald Martin Jenni (1937 - 2006), "Death be not proud", 1975 [ four-part mixed chorus with chimes and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Dorian Le Gallienne (1915 - 1963), "Death be not proud", published 1967, from Four Divine Poems of John Donne [sung text not yet checked]
by Douglas Stuart Moore (1893 - 1969), "Death be not proud", published 1944 [ high voice and piano ], from Three Sonnets of John Donne Set to Music [sung text not yet checked]
by William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908 - 1988), "Death be not proud", 1944, published 1946, from Four Sacred Sonnets [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Sonett an den Tod", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 124