Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Poetry Analysis

The topic of death seems to be a trend among many poets since it is widely used and referred to in several works. Both Edna St. Vincent Millay and Dylan Thomas are no strangers to this ongoing phenomena. Millay 's "Dirge Without Music" and Thomas ' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" are examples of two poems who tackles on the topic of death. The former 's title in itself is ironical, where it is talking about a funeral music without the music. It is then hinted to be a sad poem almost initially by just reading the title. The latter is quite different however, where the title is more of a line taken from the poem itself but nevertheless suggests some kind of advice of not treating the night within one’s comfort zone. It is important to know that when one speaks about the topic of death, it is almost also expected to talk about life. Both poems, as seen in their tone, share three important ideas on the subject of life and death. First is the acceptance of the inevitable death, second is living life to the hilt, and finally, death being wasted on the good. The first important point is that death cannot be escaped, it is one of the common denominators between mortals. It is "the indiscriminate dull" and it takes with it "the honest look, the laughter, the love." It also does not stop there, while "a phrase remains," it picks whoever it wants to pick, "the wise and the lovely," the "lovers and thinkers." There is, however, a recognition of this inevitability and that one