The two poems are very similar in that it shares a lot of thematic concerns that tend to be so connected. A clear indication or rather a clear sample is that however much one might be good in this world, the son must one day die and be raged away from this world. The two poems have some close proximity stating that however much one might be considered so good in society, he or she should leave a very positive legacy that the rest should or will have to follow in the end. That is the importance of the theme connecting the relationship existing between the father and the son.
The two poems are articulately explained, and they fall under one major theme of old age. The poems majorly deal with the connection existing between a father and the son. In one way or the other, the father informs the son that no matter how young he is, one day he must be old, and all he ever did in the world will have to rage away. In that sense, therefore, the two poems are very similar since it brings a common theme, and they both talk about death in the end.
In “My Papa’s Waltz” poem, the line Theodore states that a mother’s countenance could not unfrown itself, and this basically states that at some point in time, someone will have the ability to be warped into the arms of their mothers, and with time, the contender will have to finally rage away till infinity. In the poem “Do not go gentle…” the statement, “Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,” these are a clear indication that at some point in time, death must take its space.
The poetic techniques that have been imposed in the poems are:
- Repetition- in the poem “Do not go gentle in to that good night,” there is an aspect of repetition of the statement “Do not go gentle into that god night,” and this is basically applied to show some sense of persistence whereby the author is trying to put a point across. Through repeating the line of the poem, the audience is able to understand in depth the concepts involved during the dark moments of their lives and that the night has got lots of challenges and complications, and that one should not be so certain and ready to face it so boldly.
- Symbolism- in the poem “My papa’s Waltz,” the author uses the symbolism technique to assist the audience in easily get to understand the main themes involved in the case. An instance of symbolism applied in this poem is “the whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy.”This basically means that in case the young boy or the son attempts to get involved in the bad or rather the negative sides of life, then the consequences are so intense that one would not be able to bear them. So, this calls for utmost care and precautionary measures applied.
In the poem “My papa’s Waltz,” the best citation for this is in the last stanza stating, “You beat time on my head with a palm caked hard by dirt” (Roethke 12-14). In the poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night,” the citation falls on the third stanza that states, “Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay” (Thomas 8-10)
Works cited
Roethke, Theodore, and William De Witt Snodgrass. My Papa’s Waltz. Bluestem Press, College of Saint Benedict, 2001.
Thomas, Dylan. The Poems of Dylan Thomas. New directions publishing, 2017.