Comparison of Robert Frost and Dylan Thomas and Their Poems - Assignment Example

? Section/# During the of the semester, a great many works have been read. In addition, the matter and approach to these works, whether prose or poetry, has differed in an amazing and profound way. As a means of providing some comparison and contrast between two of the works which were read during the course of this brief semester, the following analysis will consider Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” and Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay”. Although at face value there appears to be a great level of similarity between these two poems, a stark level of contrast is also realized once the deeper meanings that are engendered within the respective lines of these poems is considered. In such a way, the following analysis will analyze as well as compare and contrast key differentials between these two poems with relation to their content, form, and style. It is the hope of this author that such an analysis will not only help to bring a further level of understanding with regards to the key differentials exist between these two works but also help to engage a greater level of appreciation and understanding for the influences and meanings as well as key differentials that each of these works of poetry portray. Firstly, with regards to the content that both of these poets discuss, it is invariably true that death, and its reality to all humankind, is the overarching subject matter that both Thomas and Frost engage. With regards to Frost, the content is concentric upon a type of resignation and tacit understanding of the fact that life is fleeting. Although such an understanding is not complex or particularly difficult to grasp, Frost is able to portray life using a variety of different mechanisms which all engage the reader in a terse yet effective appreciation for how life and death exist side-by-side in a world that is in a constant state of flux; however, somehow perennially defined by the one common thread that connects all of life – death. An understanding of the resignation that death provides is found throughout Frost’s brief poem; however, the ending line in and of itself is particularly telling with regards to the level and extent to which life should be understood according to Frost’s definition. As such, the line is as follows: “Nothing gold can stay”. Just as the title of the poem, the final line emphasizes Frost’s understanding that no matter how beautiful or seemingly perfect life may appear, it is but a fleeting reality that blossoms for but a few moments prior to being consumed wholly and entirely by death. Comparatively, Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night” displays a very similar if not identical subject matter; however, the means by which it is approached and understood within the poem could not be more contrasting. For instance, whereas in Robert Frost’s poem the reader is led to a level of resignation an understanding that the perpetual biological process of life and death is something of an inescapable cycle to which all mankind should be resigned and aware, Thomas takes issue with such a definition by way of the fact that he definitively engages with the reader to fight against the reality and consuming nature that the insidious process of death poses to all life. Whereas the reader could understand that Frost’s poem could be related with a sigh, the clarion understanding and exhortation by Thomas demands action and struggle on the part of the individual reader/participant. Moreover, whereas Frost discusses the process of life, health, and subsequent death in cold, somewhat biological terms, Thomas turns away from such an interpretation and likens the struggle that exists on the verge of life and death as something of a weakness to which all life must seek to resist. Within such a way, the very closing line of Dylan Thomas’ poem reads as follows: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Brown, 2009). Although punctuated with a simple period, the reader could very well understand that the repetition and exhortation to action could very well be punctuated with a series of exclamation marks. Once again, whereas Frost sought to discuss and engender the means by which a death was an inescapable process through which a level of resignation must be engaged, Thomas differs, even demands, that the reader and participant within the situation he is describing must seek each and every means possible to resist the coming process that he deems as neither natural, humane, nor acceptable. A further level of comparison and contrast necessarily can be seen with regards to the form that these two poets utilize in order to engage the reader with their perspective approaches. With regards to Frost, the form of the poem is unbelievably simplistic. Comprised of a mere 40 words, the poem is able to relate its message an understanding within a single nine lined stanza. The utilization of such a simplistic approach to the form which the poem takes is an important concept in understanding a further level of meaning. What is meant by this is the fact that Frost, first and foremost, engages the audience/reader with an appreciation and understanding of the reality that life and death are something of inescapable, natural, even biological processes that all mankind must succumb (Hoffert, 2012). In such a way, such a simplistic form of the poem is able to engender a further level of appreciation and understanding with regards to this particular approach. Further, by keeping the entire poem within a single stanza and not differentiating it in any other way, Frost is able to channel a degree of understanding that the poem could be considered as a type of proverb or ancient wisdom. Indeed, the subject matter, simplicity of style (which will be discussed later), and many other factors all point to such an understanding. Comparatively, Dylan Thomas’ poem uses the tried and proven method of repetitive form as a means of engaging the reader with a sense of urgency. With regards to the actual form and structure of the poem itself, Thomas’ poem can be defined as a six stanza poem composed of three lines each; all except for the final stanza which has four lines. Moreover, and alternation is made between stanzas one-three-and four with regards to exhorting the reader to rage against the dying of the night or against the dying of the light. Although this may be seen as something of a small importance, the fact of the matter is that the clear and distinct connotation that this “night” represents is with regards to the way in which humanity has so often referred to the dusk of one’s life or the twilight of one’s life. In such a way, this alternating form helps to reinforce a broader and more complete understanding that Thomas is not only exhorting the individual in question to rage against death but also against the concepts of death that humanity has for so long clung to and accepted at face value. Again, in clear contrast to Frost, Thomas, even within the form of this poem, demands a level of righteous indignation and frustration with regards to the way in which humanity has grown accustomed to accepting death as a natural part of the process of life on the planet upon which we all live. A final element of comparison and contrast which will be discussed within this analysis is with regards to the differentials of style that are used between the two authors which have already been discussed. With respect to Robert Frost’s poem, this style of the language is particularly telling with regards the subject matter that the poet is attempting to relate. As has been discussed previously, Frost’s poem engenders a type of simplicity that is analogous to a proverb or some other form of short yet sage advice. The very same can be said with regards to the style of the language that is utilized as it is simplistic and not overly ornate. This is not by mistake as it was most certainly chosen as a means of engaging the reader with an understanding of the overall commonality and morose nature of the topic at hand (Blackburn, 2010). Moreover, another key aspect which can be noted with regards to the style of Robert Frost’s poem is with regards to the impersonal nature through which the language is related to the reader. Once again, as a means of channeling an understanding that the single stanza poem could serve as something of a proverb or form of sage advice, the overall level and extent to which the author seeks to actively engage on a personal level with the reader is extraordinarily limited. Although this helps to build the ethos of the poem in question, it necessarily diminishes the level to which the reader can integrate with Frost’s poem in something of a personal level. Once again, in contrast to this, the style of Thomas’ poem is much more personal. Many individual analysts who have researched the works of Dylan Thomas, specifically the poem in question within this analysis, have come to the understanding that munch of his work was deeply influenced by the untimely and premature death of his own father; a tragedy that would plague him for the remainder of his life and eventually lead him into a high degree of alcoholism. Within such an understanding, style and personal approach with which the lines and subsequent stanzas integrate to the reader is one that is highly personal nature. Further, a level of similarity that must be appreciated is with regards to the level and extent to which simplistic language is utilized within Thomas’ poem is directly comparable to the simplicity of language that is utilized within Frost’s poem (Gioia, 2013). All in all, it is the understanding of this author that that the stylistic simplicity and simplicity of language that is utilized in both runs is done so as a means of integrating an appreciation for the base and inescapable nature that death necessarily portends. Although it is without question that Thomas and Frost both approach the subject from a distinctly different standpoint, the reality of the matter is that the mechanisms by which the poets discuss and analyze such topics are invariably similar. Through the analysis and discussion of the comparing and contrasting means by which these two poet engage an understanding of death, and the topics surrounding it, the reader is able to come to a level of appreciation for the separate yet comparable means by which the subject matter is presented and discussed. Although it is true that both of these poets were born in and around the same era, although it is true that neither one of them integrated well with an understanding of what a traditional contemporary poet should be or the subject matter that he should write about, the fact of the matter is that these poets have approach the subject matter in a widely diverse fashion. In such a manner, the reader is able to discern a clear and distinct level of contrast between the manner and level to which the poets discuss and appreciate the reality of death. Whereas many types of subject matter have been engaged by poets over the history of the written word, those topics that are invariably a part of each and every human life, such as death, are of special interest due to the fact that they are invariably hard to define and difficult to express in terms that the reader can understand or appreciate in something of a new fashion. Regardless of this difficulty, the authors in question have done an astounding job of just this by engaging the reader with a clear and profound argument with regards not to the nature of death but to the approach that humans should engage when faced by such a constraining reality. References Blackburn, T. (2010). Rage On!. Back Stage (19305966), 51(24), 48. Brown, T. (2009). The Irish Dylan Thomas: versions and influences. Irish Studies Review, 17(1), 45-54. doi:10.1080/09670880802658133 Gioia, D. (2013). Robert Frost and the Modern Narrative. Virginia Quarterly Review, 89(2), 185-193. Hoffert, B. (2012). Nothing Gold Can Stay. Library Journal, 137(15), 47. Read More