Although the main focus of many of his poems is death, Donne’s ego seems to steal the spotlight. In Holy Sonnet 10, he manages to defend humankind against death, possibly because he feels he cannot be defeated by God. As with most themes in his work, however, he often changes his opinion, leaving a confused reader to attempt to find his real belief about death. It is safe to assume he did not fear death in the like most, for he believed in the concept of an afterlife. His faith in Christian theology calmed those fears and doubts, but he sometimes still searched for answers to questions about death, answers with no explanation. For this reason, his poetry is very paradoxical, a quality that has won him much acclaim with many readers.

Word Count: 132