The Narrators of the Poems: Death Be Not Proud and Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird - Research Paper Example

A Comparison of Narrators of the Poems “Death Be Not Proud” and “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” John Donne’s name has been carved out in the history of English Literature in gold. He is referred to as the metaphysical poet whose poetry delighted and quizzed the readers at the same time. Not only was he a great English poet but also a good satirist, a lawyer and even a protestant priest. On the other hand, Wallace Stevens belongs to the twentieth century and his poetry is documented in the genre of modernist literature. Therefore, although the concern of both poets in “Death Be Not Proud” and “Thirteen Way of Looking at a Blackbird” is the same, they deal with it in different way where the former mocks and challenges death while the latter draws attention and makes people aware of its presence. The employment of literary tools also varies: Donne uses his quintessential imagery and conceit whereas Stevens incorporates imagery, metaphors and similes. Donne’s sonnet “Death be not proud” reflects his religion inspired perspective of death. This sonnet talks about an unconventional paradox as to how death is actually a way to salvation. The narrator emphasizes the fact that all the wrath and destruction that is associated with death does not mean anything because death is actually the liberator of human soul. The narrator discriminates death by saying that death is not all that superior and not as dreadful as people think that it is. He says that even death can come across death. Hence, death has been personified from the very beginning. John Donne describes that death will experience death. This view is mostly religiously inspired that death does not have an eternal nature. It will die as soon as the life after death begins and it also implies that eternal life which does not lie in the circle of mortality will conquer death, so as to say that death is over rated and does not hold as much value as is associated to it (Oliver). Steven Wallace, in the first section of his poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” compares the eye of the blackbird, which is full of life and activity, to the lifeless and motionless background of twenty mountains. Rosenthal is of the opinion that life and death unite in this bird. The narrator has widely used the technique of imagery. Here he is painting a picture of huge vastness of white snow and then he zooms in on the minute blackbird that appears as a spot of blackness against the white background. Then he talks about the blackbird’s eye and compares life and motion with lifelessness and the non-motile nature of the mountains. The number of mountains is mentioned partly to emphasize the size of the area and partly to play with the reader’s imagination. The blackbird’s eye is referred to as the only moving thing to exaggerate the stillness and quiet of the landscape and the scene. This exaggeration through the play of imagery is done to shed light on the little importance people place in death whereas they should be terrified of it. To convey the meaning, the narrator uses metaphors, similes, imagery and other literary tools to unveil the real meaning of the poem. The narrator, unlike the one in Donne’s poem, is trying to scare people so they can see death and not forget it in the joys of life (McNamara 446-448). Furthermore, in the fourth section, the narrator talks of a man and a woman as being one and then he brings the blackbird into picture and goes on to say that a man, a woman and a blackbird are all one. This can leave the reader’s mind baffled and may sound comical as the oneness of a man and a woman can be understood as that out of the bond of intimacy between them but the introduction of the blackbird into the picture does not make any clear sense. Hence, here he again emphasizes on the inevitability and omniscience of death (Vendler 75-77). The tone of the narrator in “Death Be Not Proud” is very confident and almost ironic and satirical. It mocks the status of death and almost discriminates it. The tone has a note of derogation for death as the narrator describes it to be not all that awesome. As in the following line “And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well” the narrator derogates death by saying that death is less effective than poppie and charmes, as they can kill us more terribly and lethally (Donne). Also by this Donne means that even the pleasure brought by you is not the superior. There is poppy which is used to make opium and brings utmost pleasure while it turns the skin yellow and there are charms that are more powerful in bringing humans close to the pleasure of sleep and rest (McDaniel). On the other hand, in the second section of Steven’s poem, “I was of three minds” describes as to how confused and complicated his state of mind was (Wallace). This is taken from the phrase “I was of two minds” as in the mind is not made up or clear about a certain aspect. Then the narrator goes on to describe as to how confused he is. He says he is of three minds and using the technique of imagery and similes he describes his “three mindedness” as the complicate structure of a tree that goes in all opposing directions. Then he adds detail to the tree saying “In which there are three blackbirds”. The three black birds are metaphors for three different ideas that the narrator has in his mind (McNamara 446-448). In this section the poem introduces the first person into the scene. Thus unlike in Donne’s poem, the narrator in Steven’s poem is confused and unsure. Furthermore, in the tenth section, the narrator explains that a beautiful picture of blackbirds flying in a green light will make even the folks who appreciate cheap pleasure cry out of sheer joy from the beauty of this unique and awkward scenery. He is actually deriding and criticizing people for their shallow ways where death is waiting for them (Lincoln 210-212). On the other hand, Donne’s narrator is condescending towards death instead of the people, and tells it that even worldly pleasures like poppy seeds are better. The narrator of “Death Be Not Proud” also discriminates death by associating it with things generally disliked by the people. He says that “And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell” (Donne).By this he is trying to make death appear loathsome instead of something to be scared or terrified of. The narrator is basically trying to bring death down and painting a clearer picture of it for the people to see that it is not all that mighty as they consider it to be. He states in the following lines of the sonnet, “Death be not proud, though some have called thee /Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe” (Donne). The narrator tries to eliminate the dreadful picture of death and describes it to be a source of pleasure, bliss and harmony as it leads to a peaceful sleep and rest. Here, Donne is metaphorically comparing death to rest and sleep which brings peace and pleasure. He describes death to be only a window to a more peaceful and immortal life. The narrator describes death to be only a medium to more happiness and joy, referring to life after death.Thus death is not a horrible monster but only an intermediate source of transference of the souls from a less peaceful place to a more pacific and serene place (Jamal 3). Conversely, in the seventh section of Steven’s poem, the narrator is talking to the people of Haddam, a place in the home state of the narrator. His tone is almost like that of God’s in bible. He asks the people of Haddam, to stop dreaming about golden birds, which is a metaphor for things that one does not possess and dreams to have. The narrator tells them to love what you have got. He emphasizes the un-ignorable presence of the blackbird by saying that it is there right among the feet of your women so how can you not see it and value it? He tells them to stop chasing wealth and the mortal benefits of the world and cherish what you have got and be thankful. The narrator is also depicting how poor the people of Haddam are spiritually that they are only after the material wealth and not thankful of what God has given them (Vendler 75-77). Thus, where Donne’s narrator is trying to convince people to embrace death and not be afraid of it because there will be life afterwards as well, Steven’s narrator seems to be in a turmoil where people are not seeing death as an enemy where it actually is. As in most of the Petrarchan sonnets, in the ninth line, there is usually a turning point. Here Donne has slightly done that by becoming more hostile in discrimination and name-calling of death. Here the narrator declares death to be a slave to chance and fate among other things. As in the following line “Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men”(Donne). Thus the narrator equates death to being a subject of slavery and not an object of terror or affliction. Donne humiliates death by saying that it does not have a will of its own and it does not possess free-will. Thus death is not all in all and is governed by the will of fate, chance, the masters who decide to take life and the foolish men who choose to take their own lives. In the lines, “For those whom thou thinkst thou dost overthrow /Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me,” the narrator is humiliating death by calling it out and declaring that it does not kill people but overthrows them (Donne). Furthermore, he challenges death by saying that it cannot actually kill as it may like to think that it can. Then Donne shows sympathy in an ironic tone to comfort death by referring to it as “poor death” because death is not actually what it thinks that is, or cannot actually do what it thinks it can do. By saying that it cannot actually kill he is referring to the Christian ideas and beliefs of life after death and thus is boastful about the fact that death cannot afflict even an atom’s size of harm or pain (Oliver). Donne compares men who experience death to brave soldiers and martyrs who are not afraid of anything and are the greatest in the lines, “Thouart slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, /And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell”(Donne). Thus raising the level of those upon whom death is inflicted rather than making them appear as sufferers or powerless in the face of death. And then finally in the last lines of the sonnet, Donne says, “One short sleep past, we wake eternally, /And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die”(Donne).Here the death of death may seem to be a contradiction but it is actually a very impressive, poetic and yet clever ending where the narrator puts death in its place and tells it that after that short phase of rest those you think you have conquered will actually be released to an even more pleasurable experience of heaven and immortal bliss (Jamal 3).Therefore, Donne is telling death to not be proud of itself for having a mighty and dreadful self-image. He discriminates death to crush its false air of conceit and greatness that it has built around it and paints the reality of death in clearer and more vivid colors. In the thirteenth and the last section of “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” Stevens say that the winter has arrived again. His tone is set in the present tense and he describes the weather as very cloudy and cold and tells that it’s snowing. Now the blackbird is resting and motionless and the nature has come into motion as it is snowing. This is a circular description of time where the poem goes through nature to human civilization and back to nature. So, the ending tone is somber and serious whereas the ending notes of “Death Be Not Proud” are contemptuous and challenging. Thus, there are similarities as well as disparities between the two poems by Donne and Stevens. Where the narrator in the former’s poem introduces the topic of his discussion through a conceit and personifies it, the narrator of the latter’s poem never gives away the subject. He continuously delves into the realm of metaphors and similes to bring out the meaning of his poem. Moreover, the tone of both poems also differs. “Death Be Not Proud” employs a challenging, eager and slicing tone while Steven’s poem experiences different levels. Initially the tone is that of a confused person and by the end, the perception and hidden didactic nature of the narrator is revealed and comes out strong. Works Cited . McDaniel. "Dr. Donne the Divine Devotional Poems Pinnacle of Renaissance Wit." McDaniel Lectures on British Poetry. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Aug 2012. . Donne, John. "Death Be Not Proud." Bartelby.com. New Yor: Bartelby.com, 1999. Web. 15 Aug 2012. . Jamal, Akhtar. "Death Be Not Proud: A Critical Study."Mountain Top Newsletter. 16 Apr 2011: 3. Web. 15 Aug. 2012. < http://www1.kku.edu.sa/Afaaq/Afaq/68/P925.pdf >. Lincoln, Kenneth. Sing with the Heart of a Bear: Fusions of Native and American Poetry. Berkley: University of California Press, 1999. Print. McNamara, Peter L. "The Multi-Faceted Blackbird and Wallace Stevens Poetic Vision."College English. 25.6 (1964): 446-448. Print. Oliver, Antonio S."Views of Death in Donne’s Poetry."Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. N.p., 21 Mar 2000. Web. 15 Aug 2012. . Vendler, Helen H. On Extended Wings: Wallace Stevens Longer Poems. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1969. Print. Wallace, Stevens. "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." poets.org.N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Aug 2012. Read More