Shakespeare, in "Sonnet 73", explains the death of youth. The first quatrain shows the changing of seasons, how the cheerfulness of summer dies and how the leaves die and fall to the ground. The second quatrain shows the death of the day when it turns into night. "Death's second self", being sleep, is prominent in the first two quatrains. Birds no longer sing and animals sleep when the cold winter comes along or the day passes. The third quatrain shows the death of a fire. While all three explain something inevitably ending, we know that the seasons will change again and the day will return. The fire, however, is permanently gone. The couplet shows the ending of youth, another change that is permanent. Being young, you know that inevitably you will grow older and more and more independent. The death of youth is inevitable.
"Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night", by Dylan Thomas, explains the death of his father and how he feels about it. He knows that his father is dying of old age and is criticizing him for his lack of accomplishments throughout his life. He is especially distraught by his father's acceptance of death. The two repeated lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" emphasize how Thomas does not want his father to willingly die. He mentions how wise men, good men, wild men, and grave men try to make the most out of their life before their inevitable death. By saying that his father is accepting death, he shows that he doesn't think his father is wise, good, wild, nor grave. The death of Thomas' father is inevitable and although he doesn't want his father to give into death.
I like how you used the idea of youth being the thing that is dying in the Shakespeare poem, this idea didn't cross my mind when reading the poem or even after discussing it in class.
ReplyDeleteI also like your interpretation of the Dylan Thomas poem. Your ideas on how his son is disappointed in his father instead of idolizing his father is an interesting way to view the situation.
On a last note I especially like your style of writing. It flows really well and your use of metaphors in your writing definitely make it enjoyable to read.
Nathan, you make a valid point when you claim that Shakespeare's poem explains the death of youth. After all, we are growing older by the minute and one way of looking at that is to say that our youth is slowly fading. The changing of seasons and day into night does not make death any less inevitable.
ReplyDeleteIn your analysis of Thomas' poem, you state that Thomas speaks of his father by "criticizing him for his lack of accomplishments throughout his life", which may be a little off track. I only say this because we discussed in class how highly Thomas viewed his father. He really admired him and probably all of the things he accomplished. However, you do a nice job pointing out that Thomas is "distraught by his father's acceptance of death", showing how much Thomas wishes his father would resist death for a bit longer. This supports how much Thomas looks up to his father and wishes for him to continue fighting the cancer.