Sign No More Shakespeare Comparison

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Shakespeare, since his prime in the late 16th and the early 17th century, has gained the admiration of many writers. The Romantic poet, John Keats, was inspired by Shakespeare so much that he kept copies of Shakespeare’s work near him while he wrote so that Shakespeare could spark creativity. The Scottish philosopher, Thomas Carlyle, would often refer to Shakespeare as a king and a hero in his writing. Even in modern times, the popular English group, Mumford and Sons, named the title of their debut album, Sign No More, from Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing (Mabillard). Another writer that was largely influenced by Shakespeare was John Donne. John Donne was born in the same time period as Shakespeare and wrote poems very similar in…show more content…
Both couplets personify Death and believe that it can be defeated. Shakespeare’s final couplet is “So shalt thou feed on death, that feeds on men, / And death once dead, there’s no more dying then” (146.13-14). Shakespeare’s paradox that death can die is alluding to the Christian’s idea of Judgement Day. According to Revelations 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, or crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (John of Patmos). The final couplet of Holy Sonnet 10 is “One short sleep past, we wake eternally/ And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die” (10.13-14). Like Shakespeare, Donne also alludes to Judgement Day. Donne compares Death to a “short sleep” and writes about how when people die, it is similar to being asleep, and when the world ends (Judgement Day), Jesus will wake everyone up, lead them to their eternal life in Heaven, and Death will be no more. In both sonnets, Death does not literally die, but instead, Death no longer exists after the world ends and Jesus leads his people

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