Different Deaths in Death Be Not Proud and Do Not Go Gentle Essay

I feel uncomfortable making comparisons because a successful work of art, whether it is a poem or a painting, has to be judged on its own merits. â€Å"Death Be Not Proud† and â€Å"Do not go gentle† are both great poems, by two poets with different philosophic outlooks and different ways of looking at the world, written at different times, and in different styles. On the surface both these poets seem to be talking about the same things but a careful reading of the poems show that their views differ in both substance and in style. John Donne was a metaphysical poet of the early 17th Century, a clergyman, the Dean of St Paul’s in London (WikiSource). The label â€Å"metaphysical† was attached by the critic Dr. Samuel Johnson to a group of 17th century poets who shared a common style: they employed wit, subtle argument and linked our ordinary life to the eternal, â€Å"looking beyond the palpable† (Lukà ¡cs). Dylan Thomas was a mid-20th century Welshman, who worked for the BBC and drank himself to death before he turned forty. Apart from great poetic talent, there is little in common in their poems. John Donne writes about death. In fact he addresses death directly: Death be not proud, you are neither mighty nor dreadful, you do not really kill: â€Å"One short sleep past, we wake eternally/ And death shall be no more; death thou shalt die.† (Donne) The poem expresses a defiant faith in the hereafter and in resurrection. Death is cut down to size with simple but powerful arguments. Dylan Thomas’s poem is not about death but about dying; it is not an argument-based poem but an emotionally-charged poem, wordy and repetitive. The repeated phrases increase the impact of the emotion on us: â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night† an... ...h but about loss. So perhaps modern poets tackle death indirectly. The modern sentiment that is acceptable is friendship and love; to mourn a friend (or a father) is therefore acceptable. This way, modern poets slide past the death problem. Works Cited Auden, W.H. â€Å"Stop all the clocks.† 1936 Brooke, Rupert. "The Soldier" London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1915. John Donne.19 November 2007 Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. New York: Pearson, 2007. Donne, John. â€Å"Do not go gentle† pps.1238-1238. Madden, Frank. Exploring Literature. New York: Pearson, 2007. Thomas, Dylan. â€Å"Death be not proud† McGough, Roger. â€Å"Let me die a young man’s death† Penguin Modern Poets. Vol 10. London 1972. Metaphysical poets. 22 November 2007