The Holy Sonnets are a series of nineteen religious sonnets by John Donne, written mostly around 1609-1610 and first published in 1633, two years after his death. In intense, dramatic language, the poet addresses God about sin, death and salvation. They include Death, be not proud.
A dramatic faith
Donne speaks to God with urgency, sometimes almost violently, asking to be broken and remade.
The sonnets show a mind struggling with doubt, with the fear of death and with the hope of grace.
Death, be not proud
The tenth sonnet addresses Death directly and argues that it is not mighty or dreadful, since it is only a short sleep before eternal life.
Its confident reversal of the power of death has made it one of the most quoted poems in English.
Publication
The sonnets circulated in manuscript among Donne's friends during his lifetime. They were printed in the first edition of his Poems in 1633.
Their order differs between manuscripts and editions, and scholars still debate it.
Anecdotes
From poet to dean
Donne, who had written witty love poems in his youth, was ordained in 1615 and became Dean of St Paul's Cathedral in 1621.
Britten
The composer Benjamin Britten set nine of the Holy Sonnets to music in 1945, shortly after visiting a liberated concentration camp.
Frequently asked questions
How many Holy Sonnets are there?
Nineteen.
When were they first published?
In 1633.
Which sonnet addresses Death?
Holy Sonnet 10, Death, be not proud.