Death is one of most imposing entities in the cycle of life, due to its finality. We still remain to this day uncertain of what happens in death, but even that uncertainty will be wiped away once it eventually claims us all. Death is as natural as breathing and eating, and it is the commonality of this unknown entity that has inspired poets for decades. The endurance of death in poetry is evident in famous poets Dylan Thomas’s and Emily Dickinson’s respective works addressing the topic, despite the fact that the pair was born nearly eighty years apart. Thomas wrote the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” in honor of his dying father in 1947 and published it 1951, while Dickinson wrote “Because I could not stop for Death--(479),” which …show more content…
In “Do not go gentle into that good night,” Thomas stresses one or both of the phrases “ Do not go gentle into that good night” (1) and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (1) in every stanza. He uses this repetition to emphasize his point that death should be fought against and to essentially beg with his dying father to follow through with his son’s wishes and live. Dickinson also uses repetition in the lines, “We passed the School, where Children strove / At Recess – in the Ring – / We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – / We passed the Setting Sun –” (9-12) and does so in an almost whimsical manner as describes dying similarly to going on a scenic journey. Both poets wordplay to their advantage. Thomas writes, “Though wise men at their end know dark is right / Because their words had forked no lightning they / Do not go gentle into that good night,” (3-5). He establishes an image of darkness to be associated with death and contrasts that image with the metaphorical lightning of man’s accomplishments, further emphasizing the need to keep living a full life before death. Dickinson introduces her poem with some equally clever wordplay: “Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me – / The Carriage held but just Ourselves – / And Immortality,” (1-4). She uses playfully uses the idea that death will stop for her …show more content…
She believes death to be an unavoidable requisite for all living beings to eventually fulfill, and she writes “Because I could not stop for Death--(479)” to express her acceptance of this as well as imagine what she thinks the afterlife might be like. The lines, “Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me – / The Carriage held but just Ourselves – / And Immortality,” (1-4) state how death will find her someday even if she does not ever ask for it, as no one is immortal. She nonchalantly boards the figurative carriage alongside Death and remarks, “We passed the School, where Children strove / At Recess – in the Ring – / We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – / We passed the Setting Sun – / Or rather – He passed Us – / The Dews drew quivering and Chill – / For only Gossamer, my Gown / –My Tippet – only Tulle –,” (9-16). Dickinson frames death in a light and optimistic manner, in which she joins Death for a scenic journey to the afterlife. She portrays herself as casual and curious about this experience, and there is not one feeling of pessimism nor regret in Dickinson’s account of death when compared to that of Thomas. Putting forth her imagination and creativity, Dickinson also describes what the actual afterlife might be. The lines, “Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet / Feels shorter than the Day / I first surmised the Horses' Heads/ Were toward Eternity,” (21-24) portray the
Emily Dickinson is one of the most important American poets of the 1800s. Dickinson, who was known to be quite the recluse, lived and died in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, spending the majority of her days alone in her room writing poetry. What few friends she did have would testify that Dickinson was a rather introverted and melancholy person, which shows in a number of her poems where regular themes include death and mortality. One such poem that exemplifies her “dark side” is, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”. In this piece, Dickinson tells the story of a soul’s transition into the afterlife showing that time and death have outright power over our lives and can make what was once significant become meaningless.
“Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night”s tone is urgent and fearful. The author uses a villanelle form to describe his poem. Thomas passionately discusses not to let death take over, to “Rage, rage against the dying of the light,”
"Because I could not stop for Death" is one of the most puzzling poems Emily Dickinson wrote. “Scholars who stress these subversive qualities note that this poet appropriated conventional language, images, and themes and twisted them, disrupting their usual meaning.” (Dunlap, 2) In this poem, she describes death in hindsight. She commentates the experience play by play, chronicling her actions and vision from the time he arrived to pick her up in his carriage to her final resting place. In the poem, the impression of death is not portrayed as scary or daunting, but rather more as tranquil and peaceful. In the poem, death took on the image of a person. Through personification, he was portrayed more like a male suitor picking up his companion for a date. Dickinson guided us to believe that the speaker in the poem is talking and describing her journey with death to us from beyond the grave. She leads us to believe that the speaker is ghost-like or a spirit who has accepted her death and content with her boundless eternity. It is not surprising that “Because I could not stop for Death” incites so much controversy in that it presents complex and multi-dimensional concepts of both life and death, both of which are too mysterious to be fully expressed. In “Because I could not stop for Death”, Dickinson does personify both death and Immortality as people, and presents the process of dying as eternal life. However in a bizarre twist, she also personifies life. She brings
The optimistic diction in Dylan Thomas’s poem, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” present a hopeful tone towards death, and in terms of battling death. To begin Thomas starts off with words such as “burn”, “rage”, and “forked” signifying horrific thoughts of how the struggle of dying is (2,3,5). Although, soon after it takes a turn for the better. He expresses the hopefulness that “we do not go gentle into that good night” (1). In other words, he is saying we should not let death conquer us without putting up a fight of staying alive. He seems to show us that we have every purpose to keep fighting he uses words with negative connotations for something positive like “fierce” to give us the determination to live referring back to the optimistic
Written by Dylan Thomas, the poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” was published in 1951, two years before his early death at age 39. Referred to as a villanelle, this poem contains five three lined stanzas and one four lined stanza. In the first stanza, the unrevealed speaker is telling an unknown person not to give into death peacefully, but to fight against it as he or she expresses, “rage, rage against the dying of the light” (line 3). In this first stanza, Thomas uses a metaphor to compare dying of the light to death. In the next stanza, the speaker acknowledges that “wise men” near death know that their death is inevitable because “their words had forked no lightning,” but still encourages them not to give into death (4-5).
“Afraid! Of whom am I afraid? Not Death – for who is He?” (F345). Dickinson, on the other hand, was not shaken by the thought of death, but rather welcomed it. Dickinson’s poetry not only portrayed death as nothing to fear, but it also counterbalanced society’s disdain for death. In one of Dickinson’s most popular poems, she writes “Because I could not stop for death- he kindly stopped for me” (F479). Culture typically sees death as an unwelcome end that everyone must face, but her poetry depicts death as being kind enough to halt its progress to accommodate her. Why is Emily Dickinson’s poetry so in love with death? Death is the only reliable constant (Ottlinger, 42). “All but Death, Can be adjusted Dynasties repaired – Systems – settled in the Sockets – Citadels – dissolved – Wastes of Lives – resown with Colors By Succeeding Springs – Death – unto itself – Exception – is exempt from Change -” (F789). Perhaps the harshest aspect of her poetry’s death is that after it has taken another soul, life moves on simply
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.
When it comes to death, many people feel uneasy or scared, but accepting your fate can lead to a better life in full. In “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” Dylan Thomas uses metaphors and tone to communicate the importance of not giving up.
Dylan Thomas, a poet famous for writing about death, contracted pneumonia and continued living his life as he had before he had fallen ill. When he finally succumbed to his sickness and was left in a coma, he remained living for so long before he died that his wife supposedly said to the doctors, “Is the bloody man dead yet?” (Hopton). Thomas was just following his own advice he included in his poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” in which he establishes the theme of resisting death. In this poem, Thomas uses the poetic elements of repetition, tone, and figurative language to convey his theme.
For many people, the thought of death is a terrifying concept to fathom. Whether a beloved family member, pet, or even emotions have died, death in any form continues to be a challenging subject to communicate about to others. From dances to songs and from paintings to writings, people express their views on death in a variety of forms and fashions. In William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” and Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” death exists as the main topic of both poems; however, Bryant’s and Thomas’s opinions on death contrast greatly in both works as a result of each poet’s religious beliefs, experiences, family and decisions that influenced the poems. Bryant and Thomas held different religious beliefs that influenced
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
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.
Getting into the carriage and beginning this journey shows her acceptance of her fate of leaving life as she states “And I had put away / My labor and my leisure too, “ (6-7). This was a carriage ride that was similar to an outing or date. During the times that Dickinson lived in a single woman would not go on a carriage ride without a chaperone (source here) and therefore Immortality is acting in this capacity. She is on this journey with Death who she refers to as somewhat kind and courteous as she says the following of him “He kindly stopped for me – “ (2), “ He knew no haste” (5), and “For his Civility –“ (8).
“Because I could not stop for death” by Emily Dickinson and “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas are two poems where the central theme revolves around death and dying. Imagery, figurative language, structure and diction are different aspects in each poem but come together to create a unique tone.
In the poem, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas the author engages early into the aspects of death. With the help of explicit word-use he is able to establish a very descriptive message for the reader. To begin, Thomas describes death by stating, “Old age should burn and rave at the close of day” (2). Although the author doesn’t directly mention death, within this line it is easy to evaluate the conclusion he is trying to make when looking at his choice of words. His eerie use of words suggest that death should be viewed as painful, and wicked. Although the author's diction would often be used to describe a lethal situation, Thomas uses it to describe a common person’s perspective. He explains that death should be accepted