The poem ‘ do not go gentle’ describes a person asking their father not to give up and fight against death. This is shown in the quote
‘Do not go gentle’
The quote is saying to fight against death and not to give up against death gently.
Mid term break is structured with seven stanzas and a one line irregular stanza. There is also no rhyme scheme apart from a rhyming couplet at the end. Do not go gentle is structured in a strict villanelle format with an ABAABAABAACAACACAA rhyme scheme written in turcets with the exception of the last stanza which is 4 lines with the last two lines as a rhyming couplet.
Both these poems deal with the death of a loved one in a family. The two poems have different views on death and death is expressed differently in both. In mid term break, the tone is quite sad and upset. The boy is quite distraught and overwhelmed by what is happening. The quote
‘Coughed up tearless sighs’
Shows that the boy is in a state of shock and is almost emotionless. The language is soft and sad. It makes the reader feel pity for the boy.
The language in do not go gentle is strong, powerful, fierce language whereas in mid term break the language is soft and gentle. The quote
‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light’
This shows that the language in do not go gentle is strong and that he is fighting against death.
The writing style in mid term break comes across as more of a story than a poem. It uses quite informal language and vocabulary. Although it is set out in verses, the poem has no particular rhyme scheme, making the poem flow from start to finish. On the other hand the poem do not go gentle is a very strict villanelle styled poem. The language is very formal compared to mid term break. It uses strong literacy devices to get the point across that he wants his father to fight against death. This is shown in the quote
‘Rage, rage against the dying of the light’
This quote is repeated throughout the poem to express the fact that he must fight against death.
Poetic devices vary between the two poems. In do not go gentle the quote
‘Curse, bless me with your fierce tears’
Curse, bless is an oxymoron used to emphasise the mixed emotions of the person. It explains that his father being taken away curses his father being put to rest also blesses him but him. In mid term break, a good use of similes and repetition e.g. ‘cooed and rocked and laughed’ and
‘Held my hand’
Gives the effect that the boy is having flashbacks of when his younger brother was alive. A good use of a simile in do not go gentle is
‘Blaze like meteors’
This gives the effect that the person is comparing his fathers death to enormous events like meteors. This is to show that his father’s death is at the centre of his personal universe.
My conclusion is that mid term break is quite informal and quite self-explanatory. It has a good use of similes and repetition, although with no rhyme scheme it flows more like a story than a poem. Do not go gentle is a strict villanelle formatted poem. It has a good use of repetition at the end of every stanza.
In my opinion do not go gentle is the better poem because it leaves more for the imagination. It also uses a good technique of placing the reader in situations from the reader’s memory e.g. a loved one passing away. This makes the poem more personal and allows the reader to interoperate the poem in different and unique ways
