Welsh Poetry Comparison

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 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. Dickinson and Thomas have presented two different ideas on the topic and concept of 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.

Throughout the poem, the poet urges his father to refuse death by repeating the phrase, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Within that phrase, the word “rage” is used and that brings an emotional response that comes from within and is usually juxtaposed with the imagery of uncontrollable power, fury, and violence. Another example of imagery and metaphors used, are the phrases “at close of day” and “the dying of the light.” These symbolically show the setting of the sun and the rising of the night which is a natural cycle and can’t be stopped, such as death.

The ways death is approached and depicted in literature are diverse and numerous. Not unlike the ways different religions throughout the world and history have interpreted, and continue to interpret, this inevitable phenomenon, art and literature offer a wide variety of views as to what happens after death and what dying means. Of course, there are some common threads and themes associated with dying that are frequently seen and used, both in prose and in poetry. The tropes of death are familiar and common, but each writer still brings its own vision and frames it in its own personal way. Ernest Dowson and Dylan Thomas are two writers who, while not separated by a long period of time, came from very different period and wrote in different literary movements. Despite those differences, they share some similarities in the way they chose to depict and portray death in their poetry. In the poems Do Not Go Gentle Into

For example, when writing about how righteous men reminisce on everything they did not do, Thomas explains, “Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright/ Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,” (7-8). It becomes apparent that as death approaches innocent men have shown regrets on not living life to the fullest. In contrast, the author contradicts this viewpoint when stating, “Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, / And learned, too late, they grieved it on its way,” (Thomas 10-11). Here, Thomas portrays- opposite of the good men- that feral men live a life of blissful ignorance, ignoring the consequences until they catch up with them as death becomes apparent.

For almost all people, death can be an unpleasant event and leave people mournful over a loss of a loved one. Two poems that Dylan Thomas and Alfred Tennyson wrote, both refer about the topic of death. However, “Crossing the Bar” by Lord Alfred Tennyson, is about not only the inevitability of death, but also about accepting it. The other poem, “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, is written to the author’s father, asking him to resist death and live. “Crossing the Bar” by Lord Alfred Tennyson, is about not only the inevitability of death, but also about accepting it. Although these two poems have the same subject that is expressed by metaphors, the two differences, mood and imagery,

This paper will be discussing Dylan Thomas’ poem, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night. This well-known poem discusses death, and the speaker’s belief that one should fight against “the dying of the light” (Meyer, 247). He ends the poem by addressing his father, and urges him “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” (Meyer, 248).

The stanza then concludes with the repetitious statement: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (3). The repetition of “rage” from the second line and the metaphor of comparing age to the time of day is used again to further reinforce the speaker’s idea to resist death, rather than to accept

Life is short. And death is inevitable. In Dylan Thomas’s villanelle, “Do not go gentle into that good night,” he urges his father to keep fighting death and instead achieve something significant before dying. Through a poem about wanting to stall his father’s inevitable death, Thomas conveys an extremely emotional piece about persevering even when all hope seems lost. Utilizing alliteration of hard consonant sounds, metaphors of death, and descriptions of different groups of men, Thomas creates a solemn tone supplemented with a sense of urgency.

Death is an inevitable part of life, one of the few things which all people are susceptible to. Despite the reality of death, whenever we are faced with it we try to deny its actuality and when that is not successful we grieve and howl about the wrongness of it all. The persona in Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” does the same, ranting about how his father should “rage against the dying of the light” (428) throughout the poem, trying to convince him to fight against death. Thomas utilizes many metaphors in order to focus on the major theme of Death and how it brings out the vulnerabilities of those close to passing.

In “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” poet Dylan Thomas uses nighttime as a metaphor for death, and anguishes over his father’s willing acceptance of it. He urges his father to “Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” i.e. the onset of night, or as it is used here, death.

Despite the metaphor Thomas uses to imply death is similar to that of Tennyson, the attitude of Thomas towards death is completely different from Tennyson’s placid attitude. The villanelle form of the poem repeats the central idea “[do] not go gentle into that good night” and “[rage], rage, against the dying of light” (Thomas 1, 3). The repetition strengthens the belligerent tone of the narrator and accentuates his unwillingness to yield to the doomed death. “Night” and “light” are contrary subjects that rhyme; night signifies death, whereas light symbolizes life. The narrator suggests that the switch between life and death is simply the difference between “N” and “L” as the initial letter, yet the rage towards both fate and the inevitable end destroys the capacity of metaphors to carry the burden of death.

His poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night” uses poetic refrain and its literary power to dig deeper into the emotional depths of dying. Thomas uses several types of old men, as well as the experiences that come with aging, to show how personalities can affect one’s actions and their ability to make hard decisions in terms of right vs. wrong; in addition, the speaker advises his father to fight until the end. “Do not go gentle

Thomas uses the experiences of the noble men in the third stanza to show that they were contempt with what they did with their life but acknowledge that there is still more time for them. The noble men are to “rage against the dying of the light” as they are on their last wave (9). They reminisce on their pasts together and become aware that although they are near their end they can still accomplish more in life. Moreover, they approach death with hesitation because they feel like they haven’t done the most they can with their life. They fight against death to try and utilize the time they still have

The poem, Do not go gentle into that good good night, by Dylan Thomas delivers both its meaning and the poems importance in the underlying emotions of the subject. The poems immense reaction comes from the concept that the poem centers around. Which is the most basic human need- survival. The need to survive and hold onto life at any struggle is the main message of the poem. It is towards the end of the poem, that it is finally revealed that the poem is being written about the authors father.