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Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, By Dylan Thomas

928 Words4 Pages

Dylan Thomas is a Welch poet who deals with themes such as life, death and time. He is most known for his poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, which is a villanelle directed at his dying father, asking him not to die peacefully, but to leave his impression on the world and to go out with a bang. Additionally, another poem by Thomas which deals with the concept of death, and the force of time is “The Force That through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower”. When comparing and analyzing these two poems by this poet, the reader can observe his particular use of metaphors, repetition and imagery to convey his inner feelings towards death and its cyclical nature. Throughout both poems, the writer makes use of these poetic devices in similar and contrasting ways to relay to the reader his inner battle with the concept of death. Within both …show more content…

Through the use of nature metaphors, the author both demonizes the concept of death. However, the specific metaphors he chooses, the wave, and winter, simultaneously highlight the importance and inevitability of death. Through his use of repetition in both poems, he calls attention to his two contrasting reactions towards death in each poem. He repeats how he is left speechless throughout the poem “The Force…”, And within the poem “Do Not Go Gentle…” he emphasizes his rage. Finally, through well-planned imagery, Thomas affirms to the reader that despite his aversion towards death, he still recognizes the value of it. To conclude, when analyzing both poems together, is it clear that Dylan Thomas communicates his inner feelings regarding death with the reader through his careful use of poetic devices in varying and similar

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“Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night” is a poem written by Dylan Thomas at the time when his father was at the brink of death. The piece is actually a villanelle where it consist of six stanzas, each with three lines except for the sixth stanza which has four lines. The rhymes on the first until fifth stanzas are aba, aba, aba, aba, aba. While, abaa is the rhyme for the last quatrain stanza. Thomas died a few months after his father, it is believed that this poem was written by him especially for his father.

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