Holy Sonnet 10: Death, Be Not Proud
John Donne
1572 to 1631
Drag the words to the correct places to complete the poem. To reset the game, click on the "Reset Game" button located below the poem. This will clear all the words you've placed in the blanks, returning them to the word bank and resetting the poem to its original state with empty blanks.
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
______ and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those ______ thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, ______ yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, ______ but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee ______ more must flow,
And soonest our best men with ______ do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
______ art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
______ dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy ______ charms can make us sleep as well
And better ______ thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.