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 beg…
