Use of metaphor in poetry - Book Report/Review Example

299025 College: Use of Metaphor in poetry Dylan Thomas' 'do not go gentle into that good night' is apoem that was dedicated to his father, who was by that time growing weak and failing with the old age. In this poem, the writer tries to encourage his father to keep on fighting imminent death that was knocking on the door. The writer has employed metaphor in a number of lines in the poem. The use of the words "Good night" is a metaphor as well as "Dying of the light". They are used symbolically to mean "the coming of death" (Grimes).

In the poem, Beat! Beat! Drums! The writer employs metaphor in the first line "Beat! Beat! Drum" to indicate an approaching and urgent circumstance of doom such as war, caused by the people themselves and that wring difficulty situation to the society. The coming doom would interrupt the beautiful sceneries. He is using the words "beat" and "blow" to refer to penices. Metaphor is used similarly in the two poems to indicate a coming and unavoidable situation that the person addressed must face.

Another metaphor in Dylan's poem is indicated in the line "Old age should burn and rave". In the line "Close of day" the writer expresses the use of metaphor to indicate the final moments of ones life. Also in the poem, metaphor is used in the line "their words had forked no lightning". "Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay" used both metaphor and personification (Grimes). In this poem, the speaker accepts that it is impossible to avoid death while at the same time convincing all men to stage fight to death not for their benefit but for the courage of the generation they have left behind.

In the second poem "through the windows through the doors, burst like a ruthless force" is a metaphor that implies that the oncoming problem will be of great magnitude and will spread like wild fire. The use of metaphor is also elaborated in the lines, "Solemn church", "scatter the congregation", "schools where he scholar is studying", "the bridegroom quiet-no happiness must he has now with his bride" all describes how the doom will affect every one in the society. This situation would take place so fast that one would be able to escape.

Also "Over the rumble of wheels in the streets" and "no bargainer's bargain" "heavier drums-you bugles wilder blow" indicates that the normal lives of people would be interrupted by the presence of the war. Metaphor here is used differently to show that the society would not be able to face the coming doom. Unlike in the first poem where the writer tells the audience that they should not give in, here the writer tells the audience that there is no moment of even escaping from the situation. While in the first poem the writer used metaphor to indicate a natural phenomena that would not be escapable, in the second poem the writer's use of metaphor shows that the situation of urgency are caused by peoples' thirsty for power that leads to disruption of others lives.

Using metaphor in the line as per Grimes, "Wild men who sang the sun in flight" and "They graved it on its way" , he speaks to his father with the use of good men, wild men, grave men as well as wise men to pass the message that regardless of how their lives have been or how they perceive live at the end of living they should not just surrender to it but should fight till the last breath. Convincing his father not to give in to death create the scene of "day" and "night" that subsequently becomes symbolic for both "life and "death" as expressed in the poem.

In the second poem, "rattle quicker, heavier" as well as "wilder blow' indicates a situation of urgency. The elaboration of several reactions of men during their last moments indicates self-portrait feelings of the burning catharsis prior to death. "Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray" portrays that there is a negative intermingling of the two generations. The fact that historical facts makes the readers of the poem have the believe that it was never presented to his father, thus Thomas wrote the poem with the notion that the designated audience was not his father only.

Thus he goes ahead to reference all the rage of human race, not considering disposition, against the cruel death as well as in trial to express his negatively portrayed intermingling due to natural end product of death action. The second poem is about the notion of war and its possible consequences as well as need to be prepared. It will clear through the country consuming up its consciousness in its way. Work Cited Grimes, Linda. 2006. Dylan Thomas' 'Do Not Go Gentle': Analysis and Commentary.

8 May 2009 < http://poetry.suite101.com/article.cfm/dylan_thomas___do_not_go_gentle>