ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast Because I Could Not Stop For Death

614 Words3 Pages

Although Dylan Thomas in “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” and Emily Dickinson in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” both talk about the similar issue of death, they are able to talk about different aspects of it with the same idea using unique poetic writing styles. For instance, Emily Dickinson uses irony in her poem by relating to the serious topic of death with a soft tone, treating it as a journey of life. Also, in “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” the speaker gives the reader a tone of urgency and demand, where even with anger and rage towards death everyone will all end with it no matter the situation because that is life. This paper aims to compare two poems with examples that will reveal their similarities and differences within the themes. …show more content…

Death is talked about in not only the title of the poem but specific words too. For example, Thomas states, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.” (Thomas, ll. 15-17) This statement explains that the father has so much anger toward death that he wants to give up. The writer is pained by this and is begging his father to not give in and instead fight death. Also, Dickinson states, “Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me.” (Dickinson, ll. 1-2) This quote is another example of both of the themes relating since the writer is talking about how death comes and goes. The author states that death visits her into the

Show More
Related
890 Words | 4 Pages

This constant physical battle with death is also displayed in the poem when Thomas repeats phrases such as, “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Thomas), alluding that the son is pleading for his father not to succumb to death and instead, fight for that last glimmer of hope. Both authors' linguistic choices display the prevailing theme that one must maintain faith, even in the harshest of times, and remind the reader of how precious life is. In Night, death feels inevitable. This constant feeling of death causes Elie’s father’s death to be understated, with Elie merely waking up to his father being gone. His father's death seems so insignificant because it simply ends a life that was already full of suffering

Read More
1069 Words | 5 Pages

“When you stop fighting, that’s death” (John Wayne). How does one survive when they give up and resign? Dylan Thomas, author of the poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, explores a situation set with a man with his father on his deathbed, pleading for him to fight death and to “not go gentle”. Through lively and illustrative figurative language and a well-designed repetitive structure, Thomas depicts the excitement of life, but simultaneously acknowledges death, and urges one to fight against it until the end.

Read More
286 Words | 2 Pages

Both villanelles elaborate on the concept of death, but both have opposing viewpoints on how to deal with it. Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” sees death as a demise that we must resist and avoid. This is supported by the fact that it uses very aggressive diction which encourages combating against the end. The title in itself conveys this message, and so does the most repeated line in the poem: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” (Dylan 1-6).

Read More
642 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the whole poem, Dylan Thomas had a negative opinion as well as a rage reaction to death; Dylan Thomas had a more accepting mindset towards the end of the poem when he had a realization. The realization Thomas had was the fact that rather on focusing on his father giving up to death, he should have been thinking about his father rather than the death aspect of it. In the last stanza, the mindset was shifted as Thomas said “And you, my father, there on the sad height, / Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. / Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (16-19).

Read More
962 Words | 4 Pages

The Gentle Night Throughout time, literature and art have been some of the most powerful methods that individuals have used to express their strongest and most powerful emotions. In "Do not go gentle into that good night," Dylan Thomas presents a powerful and emotional plea for his dying father to fight against death with all his might. This iconic poem has become a staple of English literature, known for its evocative language and powerful imagery. Through his use of figurative language and powerful words, Thomas conveys a sense of urgency and desperation, urging his father, and by extension, all of us, to resist the inevitability of death.

Read More
1046 Words | 5 Pages

Dylan Thomas’ poem, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, explores the various emotional reactions associated with aging and the anxiety towards nearing death. However, Thomas encourages his audience to actively resist against death, rather than to comply with it. Not only is the primary focus of this poem revolved around the inevitability of death and dying, it addresses life and how it is lived. The six stanzas within the villanelle provides a seemingly simple rhythmic structure, which complements with the complex message of mortality, old age, and fleeting moments. Thomas’s use of diction and word choice illustrates the themes present within the piece that highlights the imagery within the poem.

Read More
974 Words | 4 Pages

The poem's structure continuously reinforces the central theme of resisting death's inevitability and adds emotional value to the speaker's words. Upon reading the poem, it becomes evident that certain phrases are purposefully repeated and thus emphasized throughout the piece. This repetition is a result of the poem’s villanelle structure, which causes both the lines “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” to appear frequently. This repetition creates a sense of urgency and desperation as the speaker constantly pleads for the recipient of their message to resist death. Furthermore, these repeated pleas employ alliteration of the 'n' sound in “not” and “night,” as well as alliteration of the hard

Read More
399 Words | 2 Pages

Death can be a destructive obstacle in our lifetimes. Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” discusses the theme of death. It also depicts how the poem shows the theme of family. The two of these themes come together in the poem to exhibit how death in the family affects people in the family. The theme of death in the poem is shown through the reiteration of the line "Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Read More
345 Words | 2 Pages

In the poem “Do not go gentle…” Dylan Thomas uses powerful words about how different types of people go through death. Dylan Thomas develops his message of what he feels different types of people go through death in an assonance way. He uses words like light, right, bright, night, etc, to create a rhyming sort of vibe. Another technique he uses is a euphemism technic.

Read More
303 Words | 2 Pages

Death remains a mystery to most of us. How we approach it is different for everyone, to some death brings a chill down our spine, but to others it is embraced with strength and satisfaction of accomplishment. However, the suffering and isolation to the celebration of death is the focus in Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, Stevie Smith’s “Not Waving but Drowning”, and A.E. Housman’s "To an Athlete Dying Young". The essence of these three poems is the struggle to survive in the face of death and how one is remembered after death approaches. Dylan Thomas wrote “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” for his dying father.

Read More
1214 Words | 5 Pages

When Dickinson was young she thought of death as a kind, peaceful gentleman. She elaborates on this idea in her poem “Because I could not Stop for Death”, “Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me/ We slowly drove - He knew no haste,” Emily Dickinson uses the personification of Death in a way that bears resemblance to a classy, peaceful gentleman who is willing to slowly guide and patiently wait for a lady. Her wording also gives the connotation that she is young and in love with this gentle Death. This idea abruptly turns into hatred when she loses her parents.

Read More
975 Words | 4 Pages

The theme of the of is that death need not be feared and in this poem the speaker shows how death is a part of life, and how death really is not as scary as it seems. The speaker in the poem “Because i could not stop for death” by Emily Dickinson personifies death as a gentlemen to make death seem less scary. The speaker states “Because I could not stop for death--He kindly stopped for me…” (568). Death normally cannot stop to let a person inside a carriage.

Read More
276 Words | 2 Pages

In Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” the speaker addresses old men coming close to meeting death should avoid dying as much as possible. Although death is inevitable, they should not die without putting up a fight. Thomas encourages old men to be infuriated that death is the ending factor of life. Towards the end of the poem, we learn that Thomas’s attitude towards death is personal. He knows his father is dying; therefore, his attitude in the poem reflects his emotion towards the pain a son feels when their father is dying.

Read More
620 Words | 3 Pages

Though Dylan Thomas was only around for a short time, he wrote and touched many with his writing. Looking at Dylan Thomas’s poems “Do not go gentle into that good night” it is clear he uses rhyme and complex images. The overall poem covered and touch many topics, that includes death, love, the struggle of life and faith. It is ironic in this poem how he talks about holding on to life for as long as you possible can but passed away at the short age of thirty-nine. With the use of structure and imagery in the poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas explains how death must be fought off, for it is not fair.

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

In “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, Emily Dickinson uses imagery and symbols to establish the cycle of life and uses examples to establish the inevitability of death. This poem describes the speaker’s journey to the afterlife with death. Dickinson uses distinct images, such as a sunset, the horses’ heads, and the carriage ride to establish the cycle of life after death. Dickinson artfully uses symbols such as a child, a field of grain, and a sunset to establish the cycle of life and its different stages. Dickinson utilizes the example of the busyness of the speaker and the death of the sun to establish the inevitability of death.

Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Because I Could Not Stop For Death

Open Document