Death Is A Bad Thing

Death is the most inevitable and unknown aspect of life. It is unescapable, and by most of today’s population, it is feared in the utmost regard. Our materialistic views and constant desertion of religious ideals has forced our society to view death as an ultimate end. Socrates and St. Augustine’s views on death differ from many views on the subject in 2017, however, for their time, these men had the power to influence a plethora of individuals with their theories. For Socrates, death should never be feared and should be considered a blessing if our souls were to ascend to heaven, or death could be an extensive slumber without any dreaming whatsoever. With

People fear to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.” Throughout the history of mankind, man has been fascinated with the mystery surrounding death. For many it is a phenomenon which is feared and for others it is a salvation from the misery and suffering of everyday life. In Plato’s “Apology”, Socrates has been sentenced to death and he claims that what “has befallen me is a blessing.” After the conclusion of his trial, he explains that there are two possible outcomes to death. Either death is a final end to one’s existence, or one dies

“the hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways – I to die, and

In Plato’s “Apology”, Plato captures the arguments that Socrates makes about death. Socrates attitude towards the fear of death was an opinion or imagination based on the limitation of our knowledge for we do not know and experience, and not on its facts. Socrates believes people should not fear death, and he calls the fear of death to be false wisdom. This statement Socrates proves it based on the following conditions.

Many people seem to fear death, but philosophers such as Socrates and Epicurus would argue that one has no reason to fear it. Socrates sees death as a blessing to be wished for if death is either nothingness or a relocation of the soul, whereas Epicurus argues that one shouldn't worry themselves about death since, once we are gone, death is annihilation which is neither good nor bad. Epicurus believes that death itself is a total lack of perception, wherein there is no pleasure or pain. I agree with Epicurus because Socrates doesn't give a sound argument for death as a blessing, whereas Epicurus' argument is cogent. I would also argue personally that death is not something to be feared because, like Epicurus, I see no sufficient evidence

Two literary pieces, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by, Dylan Thomas and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by, Emily Dickinson are both poems that discuss the topic of death. While there are some similarities and comparisons between the two poems, when it comes to the themes, both poets writing styles are quite different from one another which makes each poem unique. Thomas and Dickinson both use identical figurative language devices and other literature symbolisms as they explain their main themes which contrasts the differences to the concept of death. These distinct variations between poems are apparent in both the form, and how the choice of words is used in the poems. Both of the authors have presented two very different ideas on death. The poems are well distinguished literature devices, they share minor similarities and differences between each other and how they present the meaning of death to a toll.

Two poems that can be compared to each other are “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” These poems both seem to share the theme of life coming to a close. In the poem “To the Virgins”, there is a line that reads “The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, the higher he’s a-getting, The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he’s to setting”; this creates an image of a soul ascending to heaven. “Do Not Go Gentle” conveys a similar image in the fourth stanza; as the souls go to heaven, they are welcomed by the sun’s rays. However, the poems also seem to share different meanings. The overall message of “To the Virgins” is that people should make the most of life because it will not last long. This is evidenced

Touching humans the most is the acceptance of unstoppable death. We all know that death will be our fate some day, but how we accept or how we deal with it is left to each individual. "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," written by Dylan Thomas, emphasizes raging against death towards his dying father as he repeats this exhortation in the last line in every stanza. Imagery, sound, metrics, and tone, are used by Thomas to create the theme of his poem and what it means.

The poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Death Be Not Proud" both deal with the subject of death. These poems seem to have contradictory messages about death, yet at the same time have similar attitudes toward it. "Death Be Not Proud" talks about how death really has no power over people, while "Do not go gentle into that good night" says that it is part of human nature to fight against death.

The poems “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” by Dylan Thomas and “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Housman both discuss how each author views death. But, both poems have drastically different opinions upon the matter. Thomas in “Do Not Go Gentle” is full despair and hatred towards death, and is tries to convince his father not to accept death. Whereas, Housman in “To an Athlete” expresses that a young death is beautiful and glorious. That a young death shouldn’t be just seen as sad, but more as honorable.

The theme of Dylan Thomas and W.B Yeats poems are about death. In Do Not Go “Gentle Into The Good Night” the author is telling his father not to die and to stay strong. He does this by repeating ”Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” In ” When You Are Old “The narrator said” And pace upon the mountain overhead And his face amid a crowd of stars.” The narrator is looking down on her from when he passed away.

Contrary to Frost?s peaceful, luring diction and images, Dylan Thomas uses forceful, irate words to deter death. "No poet gives a greater sense of the feel of life" as Thomas, who provokes the reader to "rage" against death (Ackerman 407). Thomas conveys a resistance towards death with images of fury and fighting, as in "do not go gentle." Vivacious words as "blaze" and "burn" intensify desires to live on and to the fullest. With images of "good night" and "dying of the light," Thomas conveys death as the "end where only darkness prevails" (Savage 381). He takes his "stand within concrete, particular existence, he places birth and death at the poles of his vision" (Savage 381). "Life [for Thomas] begins at birth and ceases at death" therefore leaving no room for a previous life or an after life (Savage 381). Excessive images of anger and rage towards death exemplify the passion Thomas feels for life. His villanelle repeats the theme of living and fury through the most forceful two lines, "do not go gentle into that good night" and "rage, rage against the dying of the light." Contrasting images of light and darkness in the poem create the warmth of living and the coldness in death, so as to shun people from choosing the bleak, bitter frigidity of death.

Socrates’ views of death as represented in “The Trial and Death of Socrates” are irrevocably tied to his beliefs of what makes life significant. For Socrates, life must be examined through constant questioning and one must hold the goodness of life above all else. Consequently, even in the face of the un-good, or unjust in Socrates’ case as represented in his trial, it would not be correct to do wrong, return wrong or do harm in return for harm done. Therefore, no act should be performed with an account for the risk of life or death; it should be performed solely on the basis of whether it is good and right.

Throughout the Apology, one is able to clearly analyze Socrates’ view on death and the soul. The Apology is the actual speech delivered by Socrates during his death trial. In the jury system, an apology is composed of three parts: a speech, a counter-assessment, and some last final words. Socrates argument is that death should be a joyous time, especially for philosophers. Socrates claimed when we die, our souls remain alive and are simply released from the body in which they were being held in on Earth. Thus, Socrates further emphasizes his idea that when someone dies their body is harmed, but their soul leaves the body unharmed and lives on in peace for eternity. I will be using the Apology to explore Socrates’ journey to the sole belief that death is a cure for life.

Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a rallying cry to fight death even though death is inevitable. The speaker, who is likely Thomas as he wrote mainly lyric poetry, explains why different men fight death and therefore why his father should fight death. Thomas uses quite distinct nature imagery to depict this.