John Donne (24 January 1572 - 31 March 1631 / London, England)

Stroke, in this context, does not necessarily signify a light touch, as MR has said. In olden times it could signify a sweeping blow with an axe or sword, as in 'he decapitated him with a single stroke of the axe.' In modern times it is used to describe such sweeping movements as golf or cricket strokes, certainly in British English, though this may be less familiar to the US reader.

what is this poem about

Poor John, It is thee; thou Mankind who ride on Pride.
Thee call me Mighty and Dreadful, for, Almighty bequeath
Thee with all the connivance, To get His Holy Son Crucified.
Thee claim I Overthrow, Though I Overlook thou Vice
I Die Not, Poor John, for thee overkill mee
Much Pleasure, For, Rest and Sleep being My pictures
Mee slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men, For,
Thee being slave to Greed, Delusion and Callous Brainwork.
Poyson, Warre and sicknesse being thou Brainchild
Mee battle to bury the dirt out of thou children’s sight.
Thee abuse poppy and charmes in vain to behold sleep
Though I befriend only pure and pristine.
One short sleep, thee wake eternally to embrace the filth
And Death shall be no more with thee, for, I die with thee!
Donne with John

Caleb, you're a fool and a harlot. This poem was written in the 1550-1650s, where this WAS common language. Spellings tend to change, over 400 years. You need to translate and adapt, or be stuck with your Dover Beach trash and it's ilk.

@Charlotte Westbury - Stroake = Stroke, like a light touch. Wondering if it wasn't better to take the poppies and charms, to sleep by his own hand, rather than be struck down by death's touch due to sickness and old age or a sword on some foreign battlefield.

Well...I'm a fan and advocate of poetry written according to Wordsworth's ideals, outlined in his 'Preface to the Lyrical Ballads.' This poem is the farthest thing from that. Poetry should be written in every day language, and strike a note with the reader allowing him to relate to it, while still being able to get the author's point across...this poem doesn't give me any sense of familiarity and is by no means conversational. Give me Dover Beach over this any day.

This poem is one I had a reading when I did my +2. Now I see this with a different eye... It is so deep in sense, so great in style and so amazing as a whole!

What word is stroake? I can't seem to make it fit into this awesome poem! Thanks! !

I like this poem because it reminds me of John Gunther's book about his son who died of brain cancer 'Death Be Not Proud' -a very moving poem with a lot of meaning and depth-

It's about how even though we die physically, our souls still live on forever. Death can never, ever take our souls and spirits away, and so It/He should 'be not proud.' Great poem; I liked it even though it took me a while to decipher ye olde spelling! : -)

awesome! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !