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Essay / The Power of the Inevitable in "Don't Go Gentle into that Good Night"
Dylan Thomas expertly investigates the notions of reality and higher power as he reflects on life and death in his poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. Seemingly a total rejection of religion and God, the poem never directly evokes the presence of a higher power. It addresses the constancy of life in death in society and the approach humanity has towards each of them. Thomas's poem suggests a new notion of religion that describes a force that is both unattainable and unstoppable for humanity, as evidenced by the poem's ending rhymes, diction, symbols, and imagery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned'? Get the original essay Thomas uses the traditional structure of a villanelle to reveal that life and the forces that drive it are not as simple as 'one might believe so. Villanelle stays true to the classic rhyme formula, the ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA rhyme scheme. Additionally, the repetition of the first two A lines is used as the structure generally requires. This tight formula first suggests that life, like the poem, is clearly understood and defined by the ideologies that humanity defends. However, upon closer inspection, we realize that the final rhymes suggest a completely different conception of the tradition. Ending A rhymes include words like "night", "light", "right", "sight" and more. Each of these end rhymes emphasizes the theme of the poem itself. Day and night, light and darkness, growth and knowledge are proposed and contradicted everywhere. By rhyming these words together at the end of each line, the poem finds a pattern not unlike that of life and death. Traditional religious values indicate that death is not the end of life, but only the next step towards heaven or a life beyond earth. matter. The ending rhymes of this poem do not extend beyond the end of night or death. Instead, whenever darkness comes, the light disappears and new light emerges elsewhere. This pattern suggests that life is continuous, but that a single life follows the predictable pattern of ascension, growth, and then final end. Nature or any other unknown force that drives this cycle of life does not extend beyond the grave. This traditional notion is put aside and a new notion is adopted. Death is always inevitable to life, indicating that life is not something controlled by humans, but by a greater force. This force dictates the cycle of life and defines it according to the pattern described. A simple poetic form and rhyme scheme reveals itself as a complex message of truth in religious revelation. The end rhymes seem simple and fanciful, but in the reality of the poem, nothing is what it seems. There is a force that prompts the opening and closing of "light" and "night" that the structure humanity attempts to place on life cannot control. On the contrary, the structure truly allows us to recognize the inevitability of force. Each ending rhyme is like the last, another one-day revolution, another life that comes and goes. Traditional religious values contradict and hide the reality of what is, because the traditional structure of the poem hides the indication of a new driving force of humanity. This new force, this new religion, only appears at the end of each verse, as force seems to appear at the very end, when it is too late, of each life. The thematic diction of the poem also reveals fruitful contradictions thatindicate a new religion. and ideas in the face of traditionalism. Simple, direct and definitive words are used quite often. Words like “night,” “day,” “curse,” “bless,” “good,” and “sight” are exactly what they seem. Each of these words, whether now or action, is concretely defined. These words demonstrate the clarity with which everyone can live their own lives according to the Christian ideals and religious adherents that the world favors. Traditionally, a clear line defines good and evil, the living and the dead. However, this simplification of the poems' dictions leaves much unexplored. Clear indicative words are interrupted and infused with words of passion, movement and intensity. Words carrying this enthusiastic diction include "lightning", "flaming", "fierce", "blinding" and "rage". Opposing dictions intertwine throughout the poem. The dance of these words suggests that tradition and definitions of life as humanity understands it may be motivated and controlled by a driving force hidden from the man of traditional faith. This force is inescapable, which is why each actor in the poem is driven to passionate action. The force fills life itself and defines death, but cannot be understood or achieved as long as the simplicity of current religious values remains intact. It must be understood that life and death are not the black and white that some dictionaries may suggest, but rather the swirl of the unknown that higher forces control. This notion becomes evident in the phrase that indicates that a dying person sees “with blinding sight.” The word “sight” is clear and definitive. This describes a person's ability to visually interpret their world. The vocabulary is clear. This would be true if it were not associated with the contradictory word “blinding”. The diction of this word is much more interpretive and mobile. Diction implies action and force. If one has sight, then the ability to see physically is possible. Here, sight is blinding, indicating that some aspect of passionate life or death disables literal sight in order to reveal a truth that simplicity cannot describe. Near the grave, someone realizes that everything they once considered truth and fact, the traditional moires of Christianity, is a falsified reality. The force he cannot control and has never seen before, due to his traditional view, appears the moment he dies. Man never has control over his situation, his life or his death. The higher force, the new religion, enabled or disabled his sight and recognition. Even upon a revelation of a new religion, he cannot share his knowledge with humanity, because the life he lived is over and nothing follows. The clear, concise words that fill this poem and regulate humanity are driven by traditional religions that place no value on the truth of the higher power responsible for life and death. The revelation of a new religion and new forces appears again in the diction of the phrase in which "good men" find themselves "crying how brilliant it is." The diction of the words “good” and “brilliant” indicates simple and definitive notions. The complexity of the statement appears when the passionate and emotional word “cry” interrupts the clear nature presented. The diction of this word contrasts with the diction of “good” and “brilliant”. A traditional view of God and religion can be clearly defined and indicated by the words "good" and "brilliant." Religion, as a positive and well-understood aspect of humanity, bodes well for a promising future for those who employ the traditions presented to them. This clarityfails to account for the emotional and ever-changing nature of life itself. By breaking the rhythm of diction with the impassioned word “cry,” we are led to believe that moirs that are easy to define and understand do not explain everything. Life is driven, interrupted and ends in passion and movement. As the actor is brought to an emotional state, the religion of tradition is challenged by new thinking. Traditional gods cannot explain the force of nature. Sufferings, passionate encounters and much more are left unanswered and neglected. These forces, those which animate the thoughts and actions of each life, are the direct result of the proposed new religion. This religion, like diction, constantly moves, finishes and directs life. A force more complex than can be simply described, such as traditional religions, is at the origin of the few passionate truths that humanity recognizes. a poem that reveals a new way of religion or a new vision of the higher power manifests itself through symbolism. The poet explores the use of traditional ideological symbols to bring out the notions of God and religion. These ideological symbols of God and heaven include “light,” “day,” “darkness,” and “night.” These are commonly used to symbolize death and life or consciousness and ignorance. “Light” is often used to represent heaven or the afterlife. By imploring these ideological symbols, the poem allows the message to be interpreted as a message of faith. However, the traditional view of life is broken by these symbols. The idea of the paradise of life after death is erased by the use of symbols of darkness and night such as ignorance or death. They convey a purpose in the ideological symbol they serve and indicate that traditional visions of heaven caused by religion are falsified. A different force, which traditionalists ignore, controls the pattern of life and death described here. Furthermore, the exploration of personal symbols suggests that there is more to religion than tradition can explain. Conscious personal symbols such as “words,” “actions,” and “eyes” are representative of the reality that humans know and can explain. They represent the elements and aspects of life that humanity considers a fact of knowledge. These are the places in which humanity controls itself. People have the freedom to act and experience the world as individuals responsible for their own destiny. The symbols of “words…deeds…eyes” act as the representation of a person's ownership over their own life. The ideas provided by this symbolism are destroyed by the personal unconscious symbolism of the poem. Aspects of life, the modes in which people control life, are determined by such things as "lightning" and "meteors." These words symbolize the uncontrollable, unattainable and inevitable aspects of humanity. One can use one's words to express one's thoughts, but these words can never be used to control the impact of love at first sight. Likewise, a meteor passes through the atmosphere, indifferent to the eyes that look at it. Life and death are driven by forces over which people have no control. Therefore, faith as a concrete explanation of reality is false. The new religion suggests that the force that defines and controls life and death is a force that cannot be fully understood or articulated by humanity. It truly is a higher power and traditional values fail to interpret it. Besides the symbolism provided, the impact of the imagery can be noted as another testimony.