Comparing W. B. Yeats 'When You Are Old' By Dylan Thomas

332 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Loss poetry

Contrast and Comparison of 'When You Are Old ' by W.B. Yeats and 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night' by Dylan Thomas

The contrast of the two poems 'When You Are Old ' by W.B. Yeats and 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night' by Dylan Thomas are very clear and emotional while in comparison they both address the last moments of life. W.B. Yeats' poem is a very soft and gentle passing full of remembering false love and the regret of lost love. While Dylan Thomas's poem is defiant and not yielding.

'When You Are Old ' by W.B. Yeats creates a scene of someone sitting by a fire, gently and slowly fading away. The poems speaks candidly of a woman remembered how she was loved for her beauty and grace. This though both comforts her and makes

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and After a Time

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and Catherine Davis' "After a Time" demand comparison: Davis' poem was written in deliberate response to Thomas'. Davis assumes the reader's familiarity with "Do Not Go Gentle," which she uses to articulate her contrasting ideas. "After a Time," although it is a literary work in its own right, might even be thought of as serious parody--perhaps the greatest compliment one writer can pay another.

    Read More

  • Analysis of When You are Old, by William Butler Yeats

    440 Words  | 1 Pages

    When You are Old, by William Butler Yeats, represents and elderly woman reminiscing of her younger days. A past lover whispers to her as she looks through a photo album. Basically, Yeats is showing that as the woman gets older, she is alone, but she does not have to be lonely. She will always have her memories for companionship.

    Read More

  • Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dylan Thomas sets the tone of his iconic poem with the title, which is also one of the recurring lines in the poem. When the speaker says “Do not go gentle into that good night”(1,6,12,18), he is saying that you should not peacefully accept death. In most cases, many people would consider a peaceful death as good of a death as there can be, but Thomas urges the reader to not accept it. While it may seem like an odd stance, one must consider that towards the end of the poem we learn the speaker is speaking to his father. In context of the poem, this is someone struggling to accept that his father is dying therefore he is begging his father to also not accept it. Another way Dylan Thomas is able to not only reinforce the defiant tone, but also reinforce the central message, is his repetition of critical

    Read More

  • Ally Condie's Novel Matched Trilogy

    1834 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thomas, Dylan. “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” Poemhunter.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Comparing Invictus And Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poems “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley and “Do not go Gentle into that Good Night” by Dylan Thomas are very similar, yet have their differences. The poem “Invictus” was written to self motivate himself after he was in the hospital with tubercular arthritis. It was important to the poet to stay self motivated to get through the hard times. As the poet is having troubles with his physical health he is keeping and lifting his mental health by staying positive. In the poem “Do not go Gentle into that Good Night” the poet is telling a story about how a father is on his deathbed but his son won’t let him accept death and gives him motivation to stay alive for him.

    Read More

  • Life and Death in Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle and Frost's Stopping by Woods

    2063 Words  | 5 Pages

    "Do Not Go Gentle" is an emotional plea to Dylan's aging father to stay alive and fight death, without altering his individualism. In other words, Dylan wants his father to take his life into his own hands and control his own destiny. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas 2570), a line that is repeated throughout the poem, best su...

    Read More

  • Do not go gentle into that good night

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dylan Thomas' poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" is about a son’s bereavement and the acceptance of his father dying. Thomas knows death is inevitable, therefore, he uses persuasion to get his father to "rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Line 3). Villanelle poems require two repeating rhyme schemes. Thomas helps the reader visualize dark and light. : “Wise men.

    Read More

  • W.B. Yeats and History Essay

    1719 Words  | 4 Pages

    Yeats in Time: The Poet's Place in History All things can tempt me from this craft of verse: One time it was a woman's face, or worse-- The seeming needs of my fool-driven land; Now nothing but comes readier to the hand Than this accustomed toil. In these lines from "All Things can Tempt Me" (40, 1-5), Yeats defines the limitations of the poet concerning his role in present time. These "temptations" (his love for the woman, Maude Gonne, and his desire to advance the Irish Cultural Nationalist movement) provide Yeats with the foundation upon which he identifies his own limitations. In his love poetry, he not only expresses his love for Gonne, he uses his verse to influence her feelings, attempting to gain her love and understanding.

    Read More

  • New Criticism of Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    When discussing the different aspects of New Criticism in Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle into The Good Night”, the impression that comes to mind is death. The use of imagery was a necessity for Dylan Thomas to express the different techniques of writing which involved a mixture of surrealistic and metaphysical tones. His ability to change a words meaning to incorporate symbolism is noticeable in circle of unity from life to death and renewed life.

    Read More

  • Struggle to Cope with Death in Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    Struggle to Cope with Death in Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Poetry requires more than just a verse. It must appeal to your mind and generate emotion. It should be constructed in a way that appears simple, yet is intricate in every detail. Dylan Thomas's poem, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night is a brilliant poem that appears so simple, yet upon looking closer its complexity can be seen. Dylan Thomas was born on October 27, 1914 in Swansea, Wales.

    Read More

  • Comparison of William Butler Yeats Poems The Lake Isle of Innestree, The Wild Swans at Cole, and Sailing to Byzantium

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Author of poetry, William Butler Yeats, wrote during the twentieth century which was a time of change. It was marked by world wars, revolutions, technological innovations, and also a mass media explosion. Throughout Yeats poems he indirectly sends a message to his readers through the symbolism of certain objects. In the poems The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The wild Swans at Cole, and Sailing to Byzantium, all by William Yeats expresses his emotional impact of his word choices and symbolic images.

    Read More

  • She's So Cold Comparison Essay

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poems, “She’s So Cold” by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and “When You Are Old” by William Butler Yeats are two similar, yet different stories where the men fall madly in love and unfortunately the feeling are not reciprocated. The primary similarities and differences between the poems are the tones of the writers, sense of imagery used, and the speaker. In Yeats opening line, he says, "when you are old and grey and full of sleep”. Yeats uses these words to provide us with the mental image that this woman is most likely old and fatigued.

    Read More

  • Analysis of William Butler Yeats' Poems

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    Analysis of William Butler Yeats' Poems; When You Are Old, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, The Wild Swans at Coole, The Second Coming and Sailing to Byzantium

    Read More

  • Use of Dramatic Contrast in Yeats' Poetry

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Yeats' poetry is very dramatic because he usually creates dramatic contrasts within his poems and because his tone changes regularly. When he wasn't in conflict with the world around him he was in conflict with himself. He was never satisfied with modern Ireland, even when he was younger. As he grew older, his dissatisfaction became even greater.

    Read More

  • Disenchantment with the Modern Age in Yeats' No Second Troy

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    "No Second Troy" expresses Yeats' most direct vision of Maud Gonne, the headstrong Irish nationalist he loved unrequitedly throughout his life. The poem deals with Yeats’ disenchantment with the modern age: blind to true beauty, unheroic, and unworthy of Maud Gonne's ancient nobility and heroism. The "ignorant men," without "courage equal to desire," personify Yeats’ assignment of blame for his failed attempts at obtaining Maud Gonne's love. The poet's vision of his beloved as Helen of Troy externalizes his blame by exposing the modern age's lack of courage and inability to temper Maud Gonne's headstrong heroism and timeless beauty.

    Read More

More about Comparing W. B. Yeats 'When You Are Old' By Dylan Thomas

Open Document