AFL2603
ASSIGNMENT 1
(ENGLISH) SEMESTER
1 2026
AFL2603 ASSIGNMENT 1 (ENGLISH
ASSIGNMENT 10) SEMESTER 1 2026
, AFL2603 Assignment 01
Assignments for semester 1
ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT 10
QUESTION 1: POETRY
1.1 What is a message in poetry? (2 marks)
- A message is the core idea, insight, or truth that the poem communicates to
readers. It is what the poet wants the audience to understand or take away about
life, love, death, morality, etc. It may be explicit or implied and is often embedded in
imagery, diction, sound, and form rather than stated directly.
1.2 What the author seeks to convey through this poem (3 marks)
- In Death be not proud, John Donne challenges the traditional view of Death as a
mighty, unstoppable force. His central message is that Death is not as formidable as
people think and that it should not be feared. He argues that Death is temporary,
powerless before eternal life, and ultimately mortal itself. The poem reframes death
as a sleep from which we awaken to everlasting life, and asserts that Death will die
when it is confronted with the Christian promise of immortality.
- Key takeaway to readers: mortality is not an ultimate end; true power belongs to
God and to the afterlife, while Death’s authority is overstated and its sting is removed
by faith.
1.3 How the author uses figures of speech and poetic devices to convey the
message (20 marks)
- Apostrophe/personification: Death is addressed directly as if it were a person
(“Death be not proud”) and treated as a figure with pride and power to be rebuked.
- Metaphor and imagery: Death is repeatedly associated with sleep and rest (“From
rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be”; “One short sleep past”). This reframes
death as a temporary, peaceful state rather than a terror.
- Paradox and irony: Death is “mighty and dreadful” in common belief, yet Donne
claims Death is not so and that its power is illusory. The paradox “One short sleep
past, we wake eternally” reveals a larger truth: death leads to eternal life.
ASSIGNMENT 1
(ENGLISH) SEMESTER
1 2026
AFL2603 ASSIGNMENT 1 (ENGLISH
ASSIGNMENT 10) SEMESTER 1 2026
, AFL2603 Assignment 01
Assignments for semester 1
ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT 10
QUESTION 1: POETRY
1.1 What is a message in poetry? (2 marks)
- A message is the core idea, insight, or truth that the poem communicates to
readers. It is what the poet wants the audience to understand or take away about
life, love, death, morality, etc. It may be explicit or implied and is often embedded in
imagery, diction, sound, and form rather than stated directly.
1.2 What the author seeks to convey through this poem (3 marks)
- In Death be not proud, John Donne challenges the traditional view of Death as a
mighty, unstoppable force. His central message is that Death is not as formidable as
people think and that it should not be feared. He argues that Death is temporary,
powerless before eternal life, and ultimately mortal itself. The poem reframes death
as a sleep from which we awaken to everlasting life, and asserts that Death will die
when it is confronted with the Christian promise of immortality.
- Key takeaway to readers: mortality is not an ultimate end; true power belongs to
God and to the afterlife, while Death’s authority is overstated and its sting is removed
by faith.
1.3 How the author uses figures of speech and poetic devices to convey the
message (20 marks)
- Apostrophe/personification: Death is addressed directly as if it were a person
(“Death be not proud”) and treated as a figure with pride and power to be rebuked.
- Metaphor and imagery: Death is repeatedly associated with sleep and rest (“From
rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be”; “One short sleep past”). This reframes
death as a temporary, peaceful state rather than a terror.
- Paradox and irony: Death is “mighty and dreadful” in common belief, yet Donne
claims Death is not so and that its power is illusory. The paradox “One short sleep
past, we wake eternally” reveals a larger truth: death leads to eternal life.
