Death is an aspect of life that everyone becomes acquainted with sooner or later. Some think of death as a finality; once you're gone; that's it. Others, such as Christians believe in eternal life, and although the body physically dies, the soul lives forever. The concept of death is looked at from three different perspectives in the three poems; "Death Be Not Proud," by John Donne, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," by Dylan Thomas, and " Timor Mortis Conturbat Me," by R.L. Chapman. These three poems have many similarities and various differences in their content, diction, detail, point of view and organization. Death is a fact of life, and each person has his own way of perceiving it.
             In the sonnet "Death Be Not Proud," Donne tells Death that it isn't anything special; therefore it has no reason to be proud. Death "be not proud" and even "though some have called thee mighty and dreadful" "thou are not so." Oftentimes death is thought of as the end. People fear death and expect death to reign over them. Donne's view of death is made evident in his poem. He illustrates his attitude towards death to be one of victory and triumph as it is emphasized in his tone. When "one short sleep past" we will "wake eternally and death [will] be no more." Donne said that death is nothing more than just another moment of life. He expresses his views on the afterlife. Death is like falling asleep in a long car drive and finding oneself in another destination. The essay is organized in such a way that it has three quatrains and a couplet. To Donne, death is going through a door while on the other side lay eternal life.
             Donne writes of death as having an afterlife, whereas Dylan Thomas in "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" does not believe in any hereafter and writes a battle cry against death. "Rage, Rage against the dying of the light," is constantly repeated in this villanelle. Thomas believes that one sho...