John Donne Attitudes Toward Death In Poetry

Poetry in its own form can provide the backdrop for some of the most emotional experiences and thoughts someone will ever have. With amazing manipulation of words an author can twist a poem into something of immense significance to a reader. Authors Dylan Thomas and John Donne attitudes toward death were very similar but differed greatly into the manner in which it was written. To understand both of these poets one must first understand their influences and the period in which they lived. Dylan Thomas writer of “Do not Go Gentle into That Good Night” was born in South Wales in 1914. He was known for his rowdy demeanor and look on life. This attitude can be seen his poetry on many different levels. John Donne writer of “Holy Sonnet 10” however was born in London on 1572 during a period of religious tumult. During this period many were killed for their religious believes.
The speaker of the “Holy Sonnet 10” poem is a man filled with plenty of wit. He is filled with confidence that his Christian faith will ease his path to heaven rendering death meaningless. The speaker of “Do Not Go Gently That Good” is a man desperate to keep his father alive and breathing to stay alive. The …show more content…
In “Holy Sonnet 10” the author calls rest and sleep "pictures" of Death. So "pictures" just refers to imitations, like a drawing or a painting providing imagery. The narrator is claiming that rest and sleep are nothing but pictures of death, an image of what death really is. Imagery can be seen in “Do Not go Gently into That Good Night” on many levels. Thomas brilliant use of imagery is seen in the phrases such as “blaze like meteors” which represents the intensity in fighting for life, “dying of light” which describes the act of dying and “sun in flight” describing the life and time elapsing. Imagery was very important to both authors in their development of the poems