In each of the poems the speakers want to be overcome by something. One wants death and one wants life - life without sin. Although Sidney's speaker bribes death and Donne's speaker promises to repay God for his help, it begs the questions: is it likely that both speakers will really pull through? Do they really want what they're asking for? Or do they think that just by pleading, they are perhaps proving something? Or really asking for the total opposite? What are their true intentions?It seems as though the only time each speaker can achieve their goal is when they get what they are begging for. Neither can have what they want, and both need release. As Sidney's speaker describes death ...view middle of the document...
Then, perhaps he can live his life the way he wants, and continue to sin with nobody thinking badly of him. God would appreciate his "efforts" and think nothing of his disloyalty to him. Although this interpretation seems credible, Donne's speaker could also be asking for God to take his life. "Take me to you, imprison me," adds weight to this alternative analysis because he could be asking for isolation from not only the world of sinning and the devil but also from the world of the living and the free.Similarly, it could be argued that Sidney's speaker doesn't really want death, but just hopes that maybe people will realize how much their opinions destroyed him. He may even believe that if people see how much pain they put him through, they might judge him differently. However, it seems the opposite is true: "Livelier than elsewhere, Stella's image see," indicates no fear of death, in fact he clearly wishes to have the peace and beauty that he imagines eternal rest will bring him.Having said all that, both speakers pledge to give up something to become weak in order for each to be overthrown. One will give up strength and an easy life in order to have God's help and get away from the world of sin that entraps him. The other will give up his own life, in order to die and get away from the judgments of his peers. Sidney's speaker even attempts to bribe death by offering to go into a chamber that is quiet and dark, which implies a coffin or to use a "rosy garland" which represents a wreath at a funeral. And Donne's speaker promises to repay God for his help by becoming a good person and putting the help he receives from God into action.In order for Donne's speaker to achieve a life without sin...
