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Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Dylan Thomas Analysis

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Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” and Emily Dickinson’s “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” were two prevalent poems examining the expiration of human life. These two poems which share the corresponding theme of death are significantly differential in focus, symbolism, and imagery which, in turn, creates two vastly different tones. The way the authors perceive death and express their attitudes regarding the passing of human life are precise opposites of one another. In Emily Dickinson’s poem, a lady’s ability to calmly accept an inevitable promise of an afterlife is displayed, but Dylan Thomas’ poem speaks of a gentleman’s determination to fight to the very end while remaining solely focused on an earthly existence. Although …show more content…

By contrast, Dickinson’s narrator seems very lighthearted and never mentions any regret. She says “And I had put away/ My labor and my leisure too,” (Dickinson 6-7) which is symbolic of leaving this earth and all it had to offer, yet never once does she want it back or miss it. In the eighth line of Dylan Thomas’, the color green is symbolic of young life and the bay is symbolic of the world in which life lives. Emily Dickinson mentions a house where death dwells in her fifth stanza “We paused before a House that seemed/ A swelling of the ground” this home is symbolic of a grave. These are just a few of the more obvious symbols used to make these poems more meaningful (Dickinson 1005; Thomas 864). “Because I Could Not Stop” and “Do Not Go Gentle” have many similarities. The theme of death though prevalent is not morbid as it may seem at a glance. The differences because of the dissimilarities between focus, symbolism, imagery, and tone are palpable throughout the entirety of both works. Dylan Thomas and Emily Dickinson are and will always be known as wonderful poets who were immortalized through death both fictional and of their own (Dickinson 1005; Thomas

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