"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

Author Bio:

Dylan Thomas was a Welsh writer and poet who lived from 1914-1953. He left school at age 16 to become a journalist, and many of his works were published when he was still a teenager. Noted for his genius use of words and imagery,  he has been recognized as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century. 

Do not go gentle into that good night, 

Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Analysis:

Although "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" is an emotional poem, the speaker chose to use a very strict form to convey his feelings. This poem is about a speaker who is holding on to the life of his dying father. Surprisingly enough,  the rigid structure of the poem only makes the poem more heartbreaking. The poem is divided into six stanzas, with three lines, each with a metrical pattern of iambic pentameter. This powerful rhythm does not sound like a it was written by someone who is angry and surprised at the thought of death, but rather, by someone who has pondered the idea and  organized all his thoughts in order to convey a meaningful message. The poem has an A B A rhyme scheme, and the final line of each stanza follows its own pattern and is either the line "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" or "Do not go gentle into that good night." This consistency reinforces the idea that the griever wants his father to fight against death instead of giving into it. The opening line of the second, third, fourth, and fifth stanza each present a different type of man and how they each battle death. The speaker uses "wise men" "good men" "wild men" and "grave men" to connect the idea that no matter who you are, you should not give into death. Another reason the speaker chooses these types of men is that these are the attributes he sees in his own father. The final stanza of the poem follows the same structure as the previous five, except it has an extra final line so that it can end with both statements of "Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

"Song" by Edmund Waller

Author Bio:

Edmund Waller was a an English, poet, politician, and member of parliament during the political turmoil of the 1640's. But when he plotted to secure London for a King in 1643, he was fined and exiled. During this time, he wrote poems while he traveled to Paris, Italy, and Switzerland.



Go, lovely rose--
Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.

Tell her that's young,
And shuns to have her graces spied,
That hadst thou sprung
In deserts where no men abide,
Thou must have uncommended died.

Small is the worth
Of beauty from the light retired:
Bid her come forth,
Suffer herself to be desired,
And not blush so to be admired.

Then die!-- that she
The common fate of all things rare
May read in thee;
How small a part of time they share
That are so wondrous sweet and fair!


Analysis:

Edmund Waller's poem, "Song," is about a man sending a single  rose to a woman. This is an interesting poem because instead of writing a card to the woman to convey what he wants to say to her, the speaker is telling the rose what to represent. Therefore, the rose serves as a very important and complex symbol. Roses can convey many different meanings. They are given on Valentine's day to say "I love you," given to a sick friend to brighten their day, or given at funerals to console those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. They are a special symbol that represents what the giver wants to say to the receiver. In this poem, the speaker is sending the symbolic rose to a woman whom he wishes to date, but she feels insecure about herself and their possible relationship. We know this because the speaker addresses many doubts the woman has, and then uses the rose to try to make them go away. His first reason that he sends the flower is so that she will know "how sweet and fair she seems to be" when he compares her beauty to a rose. He goes on to make the rose "tell her she's young" and she should accept the speaker as a suitor. In the third stanza, the speaker explains that her beauty has little worth if she keeps it hidden. In the final stanza,  he tells the rose to die! I found this very interesting because although people who give flowers know that they will eventually wither and wilt, I have never encountered someone who looks forward to their gift dying out! But, the speaker has his reasons. When the rose dies,  he knows that the woman will analyze the death and come to the realization that nothing can stay young and beautiful forever. The speaker uses this final symbol of death to drive home his point of why the woman should allow him to pursue her in dating. 

At the San Francisco Airport (Yvor Winters)

Author Bio:

American poet and literary critic, Yvor Winters, attended the University of Chicago, University of Colorado, and Stanford University.  He later taught at the University of Idaho and was awarded the Bollingen Prize for Poetry in 1961 for his Collected Poems.

At the San Francisco Airport

To my daughter, 1954

BY YVOR WINTERS

This is the terminal: the light

Gives perfect vision, false and hard;

The metal glitters, deep and bright.

Great planes are waiting in the yard—

They are already in the night.

And you are here beside me, small,

Contained and fragile, and intent

On things that I but half recall—

Yet going whither you are bent.

I am the past, and that is all.

But you and I in part are one:

The frightened brain, the nervous will,

The knowledge of what must be done,

The passion to acquire the skill

To face that which you dare not shun.

The rain of matter upon sense

Destroys me momently. The score:

There comes what will come. The expense

Is what one thought, and something more—

One’s being and intelligence.

This is the terminal, the break.

Beyond this point, on lines of air,

You take the way that you must take;

And I remain in light and stare—

In light, and nothing else, awake.

Reflection:

From the title of the poem, we learn that the author is at the San Francisco Airport. When at an airport, there are only four things that can happen. You can go on a journey, return from one, welcome someone, or bid farewell. Based on the lines "you take the way you must take; And I remain in light and stare," this poem seems to convey a parent regretfully saying goodbye to their daughter. The diction of this poem is very powerful. The third word is this poem is a double entendre. "this is the terminal" describes the airport scene where the poem takes place, as well as meaning that this is the end of the daughter staying at home. This powerful word not only sets the scene for the poem, but also forces the reader to put themselves in the parent's shoes. This powerful word also serves as a dysphemism. Instead of saying, "this is goodbye," the parent uses the strong word "terminal" to convey their depressed tone of a bitter and ultimate ending. The speaker repeats this exact phrase at the beginning of the last stanza to tie the poem together and reiterate their main point. The poem itself is a contradiction. It is all about a daughter who is ready to leave the nest and be independent. However, her parent views her as “small, contained, and fragile” with a “frightened brain” and a “nervous will.”

 Throughout the poem, the speaker uses an A-B-A-B-A rhyme scheme to make the poem flow nicely and create a steady pace. 

"To a Daughter Leaving Home" by Linda Pastan

Author Bio:

After graduating from Radcliffe College, Linda Pastan gave up her writing so that she could focus on raising her family. Thanks to her husband's persistence ten years later, Pastan returned to writing poetry and gave us poems that discuss every day life; specifically grief, anxiety, marriage, and parenting.

To a Daughter Leaving Home

Linda Pastan

When I taught you
at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
as you wobbled away
on two round wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
path of the park,
I kept waiting
for the thud
of your crash as I
sprinted to catch up,
while you grew
smaller, more breakable
with distance,
pumping, pumping
for your life, screaming
with laughter,
the hair flapping
behind you like a
handkerchief waving
goodbye.


Reflection:

From the title of this poem, “To a Daughter Leaving Home,” we see that it appears as a letter. Because it is addressed to a daughter, we view the speaker as a parent who writes in first person narrative. In this farewell letter, the parent reveals a flashback of the first time their eight year old daughter was able to ride her bicycle by herself for the very first time; a very big step in a young child’s life. Throughout this letter, the speaker compares many different aspects of the bike ride with what is presently going on as their child prepares to leave home. For example, it surprised the parent when the little girl “pulled ahead down the curved path of the park.” Even though they knew their daughter would soon be able to ride her bike independently, the parent is still shocked. The same surprise that presents itself today as the daughter is preparing to move out of the house. A simile that the parent uses is their view of the daughter’s hair “like a handkerchief waving goodbye.” Even though the child is heading away from her parent, they still search for a symbol that will provide closure and prove that their daughter is somewhat regretful in leaving them. However, from the flashback, we know this girl to be very independent. When the parent writes “I kept waiting for the thud of your crash as I sprinted to catch up,” we know that this parent has not fully let go of their child and wants them to stay in the comfort and protection of the home. Unfortunately for them, she will continue to “grow smaller in the distance” and not look back for quite some time because she will be too busy “screaming with laughter.”

On another note, all young children who ride bicycles are at some point, destined to fall, skin their knee, and cry out for their parents. The parent of this letter may rest at ease knowing that some day, however long it may take, they will once again hear the desperate cry of their child and will be able to come to their aid.

The Changeling by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Author bio:

Coming from a long line of storytellers, Puerto Rican Judith Ortiz Cofer was destined to be the author of numerous poems, short stories, and autobiography, essays, and young-adult fiction novels. Using both memory and imagination, with the main focus of her writing on the Latino culture and women's issues, she ingeniously intertwines her personal life and her public writings by portraying her family's relationships. 


The Changeling
Judith Ortiz Cofer

As a young girl
vying for my father's attention,
I invented a game that made him look up
from his reading and shake his head
as if both baffled and amused.

In my brother's closet, I'd change
into his dungarees -- the rough material
molding me into boy shape; hide
my long hair under an army helmet
he'd been given by Father, and emerge
transformed into the legendary Ché
of grown-up talk.

Strutting around the room,
I'd tell of life in the mountains,
of carnage and rivers of blood,
and of manly feasts with rum and music
to celebrate victories para la libertad.
He would listen with a smile
to my tales of battles and brotherhood
until Mother called us to dinner.

She was not amused
by my transformations, sternly forbidding me
from sitting down with them as a man.
She'd order me back to the dark cubicle
that smelled of adventure, to shed
my costume, to braid my hair furiously
with blind hands, and to return invisible,
as myself,
to the real world of her kitchen.



Reflection:

In this poem, Judith Ortiz Cofer speaks of early her childhood in Puerto Rico. She introduces herself as a young girl who vied for her father’s attention. Right away, we begin to understand and identify ourselves with young Cofer. Is she is the youngest child who fights to be noticed? Or is she an only child who loves to be the center of attention? Our questions are soon answered.  In the beginning of the second stanza, Cofer mentions her brother who she is clearly jealous of. So much so that she invented a game of sneaking in her his closet and changing into the dungarees and army helmet both given to him by their father. Wishing they were her own, Cofer uses these articles to get her father to notice her. Desperate to be treated with the same attention as her brother, she hides her long hair under the helmet, molds “into boy shape” and “struts around the room” pretending that she witnessed and endured the same hardships of war that her father did. Unfortunately, Cofer relays that her father never connected with her. Instead of giving her the manly attention she yearned for, he would only “listen with a smile” and “shake his head as if both baffled and amused” at her desperate attempts. In the final stanza, Cofer speaks of her mother’s disapproval of her game. Young Cofer was never allowed to behave in such a boyish way at the dinner table. She was “ordered back to the dark cubicle that smelled of adventure” where she was forced to strip off her costume, braid her hair, and “return invisible to the real world of her kitchen.” At the mention of her mother’s reaction to her antics, we learn that Cofer is furious with her mother’s rules and dismissive of her mother’s opinion of her. By not getting the approval she seeks from either of her parents, we see Cofer as a desperate young girl. Because she never mentions direct contact with her brother, we view her as a dejected child who will not give up in her attempt to fit in with the males of the household.

"Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy

Author bio:

Born in Detroit, Michigan during the 1930’s, young Marge Piercy fell in love with books at a young age. After earning her BA at the University of Michigan, and her MA at Northwestern University, she began to publish her writing. As of now, the feminist author has written 17 novels and 17 volumes of poems many on social issues.

Barbie Doll

By Marge Piercy

This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.

She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.

She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.

In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undertaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.

Response:

“Barbie Doll” is a poem in which the speaker uses a satirical tone to criticize females’ outrageous quest for beauty. Throughout the poem, the speaker uses informal diction, such as “did pee-pee” and “as usual,” to convey her dismissive attitude towards the subject of insecure girls. Clearly the topic of teenage girls with low self esteem is so overused, that it bores the speaker. She discusses the normal pattern of female behavior: every girl is doomed to lose her self-confidence and go to drastic measures to perfect her flaws and conform to society. After presenting a standard little girl, the speaker tells us that during “the magic of puberty,” this girl was made fun of for “great big nose and fat legs.” In the second stanza, the speaker goes on to explain that even though she had many great qualities (healthy, strong, and nimble-fingered), the girl was uncomfortable with her own body and “went to and fro apologizing” because she felt that her awkward nose and heavy legs were the only thing that people saw her for. Unfortunately, her insecurities allowed her to be easily influenced. She took any advice given to her, changed her personality to please others, and even dieted and smiled until “her good nature wore out like a fan belt.” But these changes weren't enough. This girl felt she needed a physical change. She would not be happy with herself until she looked like a Barbie Doll.  “So she cut off her nose and her legs and offered them up.” Rather than live her life with her God-given features, this poor girl killed herself in an attempt to change her bodily flaws. Unfortunately, only when she lay in her casket with “a turned-up putty nose” did people remark that she looked pretty. The speaker ends the poem on the ironic note “to every woman a happy ending” to explain that this painful death was the way in which the girl found her happiness.

"Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins

Author bio:
American poet William James Collins was born and raised in New York City. He received his M.A. and Ph.D in Romantic Poetry in California, and is currently a teacher in the Master of Fine Arts program at Stony Brook Southampton.



Introduction to Poetry
BY Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem   

and hold it up to the light   

like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem   

and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s room   

and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski   

across the surface of a poem

waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do

is tie the poem to a chair with rope   

and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose   

to find out what it really means.

Response:
  

      Billy Collins’ “Introduction to Poetry” is a poem that advises readers not to strictly analyze, but to enjoy poetry. Throughout his work, he personifies “a poem” by making it seem like a concrete object. In the first stanza, he compares it to a color slide that should be appreciated for its beauty. He follows this simile by describing a poem as having a hive; something we should “press and ear against” to enjoy the way it sounds. Collins describes a poem as both a maze and a dark room because we should enjoy the challenge of reading and understanding poetry even if we are struggling. By comparing a poem to a lake, he expresses that he wants readers to have fun reading the poem while commending its author for the genius work. Finally Collins ends “Introduction to Poetry” by stating the unfortunate reality that many people analyze and criticize poems without admiring them.

         

       I liked this poem because I completely agree with everything Billy Collins writes. I believe that poetry should be analyzed, but only to a certain extent. The point of analyzing poetry is so that readers gain a better understanding of it and can appreciate it more. However, if a poem is over analyzed, the reader will quickly get sick of the subject and despise the entire poem. It is important that all readers enjoy how poems sound, accept the challenge of understanding the meaning behind it, and most importantly, have fun while reading it!