O Gather Ye Escapee Poets!

And Hear My Cries For HELLLLLLP!

I am not going to sugar coat my problem or lure you into inspired posts that would help my cause so let me lay it on the line.

I have to analyze a poem for my Literature class and it has to be 5 pages long.
My problem is that I have been putting so much time and effort into getting ready for a Biology/Nutrition exam and an Algebra exam (both Wednesday) that I simply can't think!

EDIT: This is not to say that tomorrow things will not be clearer as earlier today, I did finish compiling the study guide for my upcoming Biology/Nutrition exam. [img]smile.gif[/img] I can hope so anyway LOL [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I have chosen my poem! (Yay! LOL)
It is Dylan Thomas' villanelle, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" and I have some questions offering direction for "Critical Thinking" but like I said I can't think LOL! (shush!)

Here is the poem and the questions to consider....if any of you would like to take the time to participate in being my brain for a day (Oh God NO LOL) or just take it upon yourself to offer your own wisdom, it would be greatly appreciated!

I do have the benefit of filling the first page with the thesis statement and background on Mr. Thomas.

I don't even have the thesis statement yet and that much is due on Wednesday. *sigh*

OK Here Goes:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave 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 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.

I like the poem and feel a lot of depth and meaning in it...I can feel what it is getting across in each of the stanzas but at present I cannot find the words to express them. (Timber Loftis, do you have my words again? )
Most frustrating for one who pride's herself on her ability to think analytically (when she has it~shut up! *wink*) and even moreso for a former English wizard who has just spent too much time in Science and not enough in "real" books LOL!

The question I should consider to analyze it:
1) How does Thomas vary the meanings of the poem's two refrains "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying og the light"?

2) Thomas' father was close to death at the time he wrote this poem. How does the tome contribute to the poem's theme?

3) How is th egord "good" used in line 1?

4) Characterize the men who are "Wise" (line 4), "Good" (7), "Wild" (10), and "Grave" (13)

5) What figures of speech contribute to this poem?

6) What can be discussed regarding this villanelle's sound effects?

Once again, let me offer you any thanks for any help you can give me and also...if you all would like to turn this thread into a discussion of poetry, please do so! It has been a while since we have had any active poetry threads going and I think it makes for some astounding and thought-provoking conversation! (I know some of you do too! )

[True_Moose]

Here goes, from a guy in ELA honours

2) Thomas' emotions are the contributing factor to the overall theme. His confusion of emotions such as joy over the life his father led, sorrow, guilt and even anger towards him cause the poem to contrast itself.

These emotions are leading him to tell his father to fight, and grieve over the absolutes of life, such as death. In the third stanza, for example, Thomas reflects on how one's "frail deeds" mean all but nothing after one's death.

[img]tongue.gif[/img] . Glad I'm going into Poli-Sci at university.

True_Moose,
You are a blessing to this Escapee Haven LOL!

What will you specialize in (in the Poli-Sci field)? Territorial or National?

I haven't chosen a specialty subject in my quest for an Education degree yet.
I know Special Education gets higher pay but it is also a higher risk job and I am not sure my heart would be up to it.
I am considering Sign Language as an alternative to Spanish or French...that will enable me to know a "universal" language besides English and also qualify me for teaching Special Needs children without getting sucked into the developmental disablities area of Special Education. (I am such a chicken-sh*t when it comes to violent and disturbed children LOL)

[True_Moose]

International. Canadian politics and government is about as interesting as watching grass grow... [img]graemlins/yawn.gif[/img] I mean at least your politicians are raunchy enough to make things interesting [img]graemlins/evillaughter1.gif[/img]

[ 10-14-2002, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: True_Moose ]

LOL Yeah but teaching it can be quite a bore! History on the other hand has a lot of colorful characters and spicy stories to give it flavor.
You'll be an active participant or just studied in the subject?
Eh, I'll stick with the basics and kids too young to realize that none of it matters LOL.

[True_Moose]

I'm not sure, but if I'm right then

4) Wise men are those who recognize that death has come to claim them. They regret what they haven't done. The passage "their words had forked no lightning" means that they have not necessarily expressed themselves, or have accomplished what they wished to have accomplished during their lives, and are thus unhappy when death claims them.

Good men see their noble actions brought to naught. Though "their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay," the pre-death reconsideration of their life forces them to face the fact that they have really done little of import. They again, feel rage against death because they wished to do more with their lives.

Wild men are those that do not recognize the consequences of their actions; those that do not plan or recognize their future. As such, they live in the present. They cannot accept death because it is unacceptable to lose the present; one cannot have consciousness of death. Hence, they cannot come to terms with death like others can.

Grave men are those who treat life too seriously; those who experience no joy through life. Their eyes are blind to the pleasures and joys of the world. When death comes to them, they realise that their ignorance of these joys has caused them to lose any chance they had of ever having them. Death represents a sort of grave finality to their grave lives.

In conclusion, Thomas is pointing out that, while each person detests death, each approaches it in his or her own way, with a different reason in each.

[img]tongue.gif[/img]

In answer to your question, sort of. My goal is to be on the Supreme Court of Canada as a judge. While judges are not necessarily as political here as in the States, our Supreme Court is as political as yours, and almost more important in the process of governing.

What an excellent analysis! You pretty much stated what I was feeling in it but could not grasp with actual words. Thank you very much!

Man, I really need to limit the time I spend on my Biology LOL...I have atoms and amino acids in the forefront of my brain...I hope I don't lose it all before Wednesday LOL! It would really be sad of me if I did lose it come test time LOL I only spent three days compiling a study guide for three chapters that is just over 30 pages typed with pictures where I need to remember the chemistry. If I could only develop such a method for Math I'd have it made LOL!

I think you have very honorable goals. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
Being a Judge is a big responsibility, a Supreme Court Judge even more so and the less political you can have the position be, the better IMO
I lost all respect for our Supreme Court in the appointment of Dubya to the presidency but that is another thread altogether LOL.

Sorry I took so long to respond to this thread but I have been saving some script for nothing more than nostalgia. Its the wedding you presided over LOL...if you want a copy let me know and I'll e-mail one to you. (I know, I'm a dork~shush )

[True_Moose]

Sure, a copy would be cool. Just email it to the address on my profile.

Sorry, but can't help you too much more than that. It would help if I knew what a villainelle was LOL [img]tongue.gif[/img]

You got mail
I added a separate bonus piece of nostalgia for chuckles and laughs...it is LONG but well worth reading. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I don't know how it can help (well then I am brain dead right now LOL) but a villanelle is a fixed form of poetry consisting of nineteen lines that can be any length that is divided into 6 stanzas: five tercets and a concluding quatrain.
The first and third lines of the initial tercet rhyme; these rhymes are repeated in each subsequent tercet and in the final two lines of the quatrain. Moreover, line 1 appears in its entirety as lines 6, 12, and 18, while line 3 appears as lines 9, 15, and 19.
This form may seem to risk monotony but in competent hands (such as Thomas") a villanelle can create hauntings echoes as seen in "Do not go gentle into that good night"

[Melusine]

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE this poem!!!!!

*ahem* sorry just had to say that
I'll now go back and actually read your posts and see if I can help