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1. Death is a common theme in poetry and you have likely come across many poems in the text which deal with it. Does Donne deal with the subject in a traditional way? Does he offer a new perspective? How does he approach the subject in a way different from how you would think of it? How does Donne’s perspective differ from other poems you’ve read? (For examples, take a look at Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” in Chapter 13, Yeats’ “A Dream of Death” in Chapter 15, or Robert Frost’s “Home Burial” in Chapter 17.)
2. Describe the tone of the poem. Does the speaker sound certain of his feelings about death? Does he waver at all throughout the poem or does he remain constant? What do you imagine are the circumstances that brought the speaker to speak these lines?