Sonnet is written very well, Donne’s use of language makes the poem more dramatic, for example the poem opens with “Death be not proud,” this use of one syllable words means that when read a lot of emphasis is put on them making them an important part of the poem and something that the reader can focus on. This line is provoking and the reader is quite shocked because straight away Donne has introduced the idea that Death has been personified and he seems to be almost mocking such a serious and ,to most people, terrifying image. Donne uses this technique again at the very end of the poem when he writes “Death, thou shalt die,” bringing the poem full circle and finishing on a dramatic and defiant ending that seems to sum up the whole feel of the poem.
The rest of the poem is used to echo the first lines where Donne points out that Death is not “mighty and dreadful”, he is trying to justify this idea to the reader and persuade them that his ideas are right. Donne mocks death throughout Sonnet, several times he compares Death to “sleep” which he points out could just as easily be achieved using “poppy or charms”. Also, he refers to Death as “poor Death” which again sounds mocking and supports the idea that nobody can be afraid of something that they pity. In the third and fourth lines Donne ridicules Death, making death seem foolish for thinking that those it “dost overthrow” truly die when they simply go on to a better place. He makes the poem more personal by defying Death, telling it, “nor yet canst thou kill me” and this helps persuade the reader because if Donne is willing to claim that Death cannot harm him then he must truly believe this. The fact that Donne was a priest probably made it easier for him to convince people that Death was not a great threat, after all he would have been seen as a kind of “messenger” for God and this would have made a big difference to his writing. This is perhaps why Sonnet is so persuasive, because Donne’s ideas about Death were not just his beliefs but part of his life’s pursuit and so obviously something he felt very passionately about.
I have already mentioned that the poem takes the form of a sonnet, the ABBA rhyming pattern and the fact that the poem seems split into two is what really gives this effect. After the line “Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery” the poem seems to pause (this would certainly show when reading the poem aloud) which is common in sonnets. At this point Donne seems to have made his point and this gives the reader a chance to take in what they have just read. With a change of tone comes a change in rhyme because after this line the pattern changes to CDDC and Donne begins to make people pity the “slave to Fate” which makes a big difference to the poem because if Donne can make people pity death then he will have done what he set out to do because no one will fear something that they pity. This is a very clever and successful example of a writer being able to persuade us to see the reasoning behind his protest.
When describing “Death” Donne always uses a capital D as a further way of personifying death, this is quite subtle but still affects the reader whether they notice it or not. It may also show that Donne does have some respect for death, after all in this poem although he seems to be putting Death down he does point out that it is not Death itself that carries out the terrible acts it is so feared for. This contrasts with Thomas’ poem in which death is never referred to by that name, Thomas chooses to avoid using it entirely always using metaphors like “night” or the “dying of the light” instead. This could be a way for him to avoid talking about it as something real or personalising it in any way, after all Thomas’ aim is to make the reader feel as detached from death as possible, for him it should be something unknown and therefore something to be feared, the opposite of what Donne aims to do. However, even when using metaphors for death he doesn’t use capital letters, he does not show any respect for death or to give it any importance.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night is written in 6 Stanzas, each with three lines apart from the last verse which like sonnet ends dramatically and with emphasis put on it, this four line verse ends with both of the repeated lines that have been used alternately throughout the poem: “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” This use of repetition throughout the poem has made these two lines very important and the fact that they are both used to conclude the poem is, as in sonnet, a defiant summary of his emotions towards death.
Thomas’ poem uses many oxymorons to describe death and those who experience it, such as “blinding sight” or “curse, bless ,me now with your fierce tears”. These contradictory ideas may be there to make the poem more difficult to understand, just as Thomas has difficulty understanding death and why people just accept it. This poem was also probably written during a time when Thomas was very confused about death and angry and resentful at the death of his father, mentioned in the last verse. If Thomas was brought up to be religious then possibly his father was and this is why Thomas is so frustrated, his father may be accepting death too readily which would explain Thomas’ frustrated pleas for him to “curse” death or to show any real, raw emotion.
Both poems agree that death is inevitable, that everyone must die. Thomas’ poem is not saying that you should fight against death in the hope that you won’t die, he acknowledges that “wise men”, “good men”, “wild men”, “grave men” and even his own father must all die. This poem is a protest about giving up, about dying peacefully without fighting for life or the right to experience things that you have not had time to. This poem sounds bitter and that is what it is about, Thomas seems tired of hearing poems like Donne’s in which death is just a “short sleep” his poem questions why you should not be bitter, why death is just accepted. Thomas encourages people to cry “fierce tears” at how short their life was and how much everyone learns “too late”. Sonnet too accepts that “soonest our best men” with death will go however Donne sees death as the “soul’s delivery”, unlike Thomas he does not see death as the end but only a “short sleep” from which “we wake eternally”, Donne is protesting that people’s fears of death are unnecessary, he cleverly points out that if after death we go onto heaven then death itself “shalt die” because after you are dead there is never any need to fear death again, if this is true then why fear something which will only take you somewhere where fear is unheard of and will never have to be thought of again?
Both poems use strong imagery and wonderful language. In Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night particularly the language and images used seem more important than the exact meaning of the poetry, leaving the poem open to the readers own interpretations. For example the line “Crying how bright their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay” perhaps does not make much sense but the language, the use of words like “danced” mean that the readers reaction to this line is more emotional; they may not really understand it exactly but they somehow seem to know what he means because these words touch them emotionally and perhaps in the end that means that it means more to them than it would have done otherwise. Sonnet too is well written and the use of language, particularly the use of personification which I have already mentioned, make it an interesting and thought provoking poem.
Thomas begins his poem with a verse which straight away sets the tone for the whole poem. When Thomas tells us not to go gently into that “good night” it is clear that he is mocking this idea of death being a concept that is just accepted by so many. This idea is continued in the next line when Thomas reveals his belief that “Old age should burn and rave at close of day”. This line is so important because it really sums up the poem. The words “burn” and “rave” really portray Thomas’ anger and frustration to the reader which is what the whole poem is about. These are strong, passionate words and leave us in no doubt over Thomas’ opinions. He finishes this verse by again directly addressing the reader and telling them to “rage” against death. This is a pattern that continues throughout the poem, Thomas shares his ideas and then in the last line seems almost to plead with the reader to accept what he is saying and to act on these opinions.
In the next four verses I have already mentioned that Thomas points out that all men must die whether they are “wise”, “good”, “wild” or “grave”, but what he also says is that all these men, these completely different men, should fight against death. In the second verse he talks of “wise men” and how even though they know that “dark is right” they will fight against death because their words had “forked no lightning”. This powerful imagery is left quite vague so the reader can form their own interpretation of it. I think that Thomas uses the image of “lightning” to represent an impact, so what he is saying is that even though the wisest men know that death is inevitable they fight against it because they do not want to die until they have made a difference or impact on the world.
The third verse talks about “Good men”. This verse is my favourite, it again uses very strong imagery and words to create a beautiful picture. The line “crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay” does not seem to make much sense but Thomas’ use of imagery makes it so enjoyable to read. The idea of these “frail” deeds dancing is wonderful, and this is a perfect example of how the use of language can affect people and be very persuasive. I interpret this verse as talking of how “Good men” should want their good deeds, however small, recognised and seen as wonderful contributions to the world and that this should influence them to “rage” against death until they see this happen.
In the fourth verse Thomas writes about “Wild men”. This verse can , once again, be interpreted in different ways but I think that Thomas uses the image of “the sun” as a metaphor for life ( which would contrast with the idea of death being seen as “night”). I think that this verse is pointing out that “Wild men” have spent their lives living such a care-free existence that they realise “too late” life is so fleeting and that it is almost gone, that they had put the idea that it was slipping away from them to the back of their minds because it caused them such grief.
The next verse focuses on “Grave men” which obviously contrasts with the verse about “Wild men”. Here Thomas points out that these men too have regrets when, near death, they suddenly see “with blinding sight” that life should be passionate and fiery. Thomas uses language to mirror the sentiment behind this stanza, words like “blaze” and “meteors” really help the reader to understand just how full of life these “blind eyes” could have been.
The final verse is the emotional climax of the poem. Here Thomas talks about his own father who is “there on that sad height” (Thomas again uses imagery avoiding using the word death). The poem suddenly becomes much more personal as we realise that Thomas is no longer talking about men in general but his father and it becomes clear where the frustration and anger in this poem stems from. This poem is written to persuade people to “rage against the dying of the light” while Thomas is trying to convince his own father to do so.
These two poems are well written and persuasive, the writers manage to make their way of thinking understandable to anyone reading their poems. Sonnet is a poem that defies peoples natural instinct to be scared of death and uses language to enforce his point. On the whole Sonnet seems a lot more planned, it is clever but understandable and uses techniques like personification to make it easy for the reader to identify with the poem. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night in comparison is a more raw and emotional poem, it was written when the author was obviously in turmoil and this shows in the passionate style of writing. This poem also uses imagery but not in the same way as Sonnet, it’s images are not really for the reader to relate to, they are fantastic, they do not really seem real but that is the point, death to Thomas is something unknown and something to dread. Thomas’ poem seems much more messy than Sonnet, it is contradictory and it is not easy for the reader to understand, they must study it in more depth to get an idea of what it is really about,
this however only makes the poem more interesting and realistic because it seems to be straight from Thomas’ mind , a jumble of thoughts that seems just to have spilled onto the page. These two poems are forms of protest and both authors have shown that poetry is an excellent way to speak out because these poems are persuasive and convincing arguments for both their very different views.
