Dylan Thomas To An Athlete Dying Young

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.

Thomas realizes it is human nature to take life for granted; until death approaches. Thomas wrote this poem for his father, to tell him that there is so much more for him here, living, to do. The only way to deter death is through fury and frenzy. Death comes too quickly for most people and only with "rage" can death be defied.

William James, an American philosopher and psychologist once said “believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” Life, regardless of how close it lies to death, is worth keeping. The poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas is a son’s appeal to a fading father. He shows his father that men from all walks of life confront death, however, they still war against it. Thomas uses figurative language to classify men into four different categories to persuade his father to realize that a life, regardless of how it was lived, should be fought for.

Death is the concern in of both Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Goodnight,” and Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”. Moreover, while these two poets use similar themes in their works, the execution and tone of their respective pieces could not be more antithetical. More to the point, Thomas’ poem paints death and oblivion as something deserving of fear and dread, and even though dying is an immutable fact in our world, man will always feel the need to have, “Rage, Rage against the dying of the light”. However, Dickinson does not let the fear of death consume her, so much so, that in her poem she embraces death as nothing less than a gentleman, who in her own words “kindly stopped for me”. At the end of it all, Dylan Thomas’ poem is a loud boisterous proclamation about the desperation of man to hold on to life and to leave something behind but ultimately realizing they cannot, while Dickinson’s is a quiet reflection about the cyclical nature of life and death and the peace the end brings.

Death holds the influence over one’s life. No matter what they do, they cannot escape it. In Dylan Thomas’ poem, “Do Not Go Gentle into that Goodnight,” and A.E. Housman’s poem, “To an Athlete Dying Young,” both use literary devices describing the tragedy of death. Thomas and Housman both create characters that are dying, and the internal conflicts that people around them have.

This is expressed by the multiple examples of old men whom regret certain aspects of their lives and defy death even when they know their time is up. The speaker is urging his father to fight against old age and death. The meaning and subject of the poem influence the tone and mood. The tone is one of frustration and insistence. Thomas is slightly angry and demanding. His words are not a request, they are an order. The mood of the poem is is serious and solemn due to the poem focusing mainly on the issue of death. This mood and tone is created by words such as “burn”(2), “Grieved”(11) and “rage”(3) along with phrases such as “crying how bright”(7), “forked no lightning”(5), “near death”(13) and “fierce tears”(17). The insistent feeling is also created by the repetition of the lines “Do not go gentle into that good night”(1), and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”(3). The figurative language used also affect how the meaning, tone and mood are interpreted.

In the poem “To an Athlete Dying Young” written by A.E Housman written in 18** death is viewed in a different approach. Many people look at death as an unfortunate event that is accompanied by mourning and remembrance. Housman portrays the idea from the prospective of an athlete and their glory. One may say Housman has two attitude towards death one being that in order for an athlete to die with fame and glory he must die at the peak of their career or be forgotten. And the other being the poem was simply written as an elegy praising the life of a young athlete who lived life to the fullest. Athletes strive for that glory they desire with countless hours of practice to be remembered. Regardless of the way the reader interprets “To an Athlete

 Thomas was very Catholic in his beliefs, which is evident when he talks of light and darkness.  He mentions light repeatedly throughout the poem as something that is good.  Darkness seems to represent something that is bad.  This is understood if you look at black and white, however in Christianity light is supposed to be representative of God.  None of the men dying are said to see this light.  All death brings to them is darkness.  This darkness throughout the poem does not feel good.  Thomas does not mention God in this poem.  He does say that he prays for his father, yet he has not put it together that his father is leaving him to go to another good place.  It makes me wonder if he is questioning his own Christianity or if he is just selfish in his need for his father to stay.

The final words of the poem declares, “Do not go gentle into that good night/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Thomas 18). These lines show anger, because

Who does not cower in fear upon the thought of death? Almost everybody does! However, people have differing views on the abstract idea of dying. In examining the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? by Emily Dickinson and "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? by Dylan Thomas, it is evident that the poets use contrasting and comparative techniques in their unique presentations of the concept of death. In the poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death? Emily Dickinson presents the idea of acceptance of death, whereas in the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night? Dylan Thomas presents the idea of refusal and opposition to death. Despite the differences in theme, these two poets both use similar figurative language devices, such as

Immediately, the question of who this person may be comes to mind. As the second stanza begins it is clear the the point of view has switched to third person and Thomas’ goes on to describe how good, wise, wild and grave men have “[raged] against the dying of the light” (7). The entirety of the fifth stanza is a declarative sentence- a call to arms against the war on death. This is an apparatus to ignite passion amongst those who hear his words. But the sixth stanza comes full circle back to second person creating a more intimate effect. This illuminates the overwhelming distress and devastation he felt at the time because it is here that Thomas’ own father is revealed to be the subject of the poem.

People would not want to hear that their loved ones merely gave up and died passively. This poem in itself is a celebration of life, the poem is not only about death but it is an affirmation of life. To further emphasise the points being made Dylan Thomas utilises a wide range of literary devices. Parallelism is used from lines seven to fifteen to juxtapose the different attitudes of the so called “genres” of men at their death. This is used to outline that if you continuously lead one set type of lifestyle whether it is as a “wild man”, a “grave man” or a “good man” you will not be satisfied when your time comes to die. The only true way to be satisfied is to live a life of balance; only with a good contrast can you be at peace.

Author’s use their writing to discuss death in different ways. Robert Browning’s poem “Porphyria’s Lover” has few similarities with “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” by Dylan Thomas. These authors have drastic differences when talking about death. Browning discusses how killing is a power play in a poem about the speaker gaining control, and Thomas talks about the transience of life in a poem about fighting death.

Although death seems to be a theme for many literary poems, it also appears to be the most difficult to express clearly. Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “death” as, “A permanent cessation of all vital function: end of life.” While this definition sounds simple enough, a writer’s definition goes way beyond the literal meaning. Edwin Arlington Robinson and Robert Frost are just two examples of poetic writers who have used death successfully as the main theme of their works. Robinson, in the poem “Richard Cory,” and Frost in his poem, “Home Burial,” present death in different ways in order to invoke different feelings and emotions from their readers.

While Dylan Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that goodnight” and Wallace Stevens’ “The Emperor of Ice-Cream” both deal with overcoming or facing a death, the poems take contrasting views on how to see death. Death is subjective and the effects of it change depending on who has passed and who is experiencing the loss. Death can be portrayed in a positive and negative tone and in a reverent one as well.