"For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow / Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me." (Lines 3-4)
Death is personified throughout this poem as a pathetic warrior who thinks he can defeat everyone, but in reality, he is actually quite pathetic. He can't kill anyone for eternity, he is equated to "poppy or charms," and he dwells with "poison, war, and sickness." Death is often described with human characteristics, especially in poetry. Speakers enjoy speaking directly to death because it makes them feel like they have some power on the one element of life that every single person can expect at the end of life. However, this poem presents death as perpetually weak sauce. He only puts his victims to sleep before they "wake eternally." Because of this reference to resurrection and the apocalypse, I can assume that the speaker is religious. In the last line, death is condemned to his own fate. Ironically, he will be the last to be destroyed. This obliteration of death was also presented in the fantastic book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The phrase "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" was engraved on the tomb of Harry's parents' tombstone. Here's a clip for your entertainment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGH9OlTVoQA
The tombstone I'm talking about is at 1:47, but unfortunately you cannot see the actual phrase engraved on it. But it's there. Trust me.
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