Not so Different Do history really repeat itself? How can poets born and died decades ago be relevant in today’s society? The poets in question are Dylan Thomas and Siegfried Sassoon. Dylan Thomas wrote “Do not go Gentle into That Good Night” while Siegfried Sassoon wrote “Suicide in the Trenches”. While both poem’s main theme deal with death, the tone between the two are very different. One is hopeful while the other one is somber.
Through the uses of their poems in popular media today, the parallel the poems have to real life, and the reason these work were created, these two poems are still relevant today. Thomas’s “Do not go Gentle into That Good Night” is a villanelle. What is a villanelle? According to Persoon
“A villanelle is a French …show more content…
The work of Dylan Thomas is rip out of the pages of history and squarely placed onto the big screen. No longer is it just known in the circle of academia but revived inside the viewing public’s consciousness. While one work is brought back to life in popular movies, the other work mirror real life. Sassoon’s “Suicide in the Trenches” is a war poem that take place in World War I. The main character of the poem “a simple soldier boy” ended his own life “He put a bullet through his brain / No one spoke of him again.” (7-8) showing us all small glimpses into one of the horrible reality of war. The toll war take on a mind of a man.
Sassoon take the reader on a journey of the mind. In the beginning the soldier is a man who “who grinned at life in empty joy / slept soundly through the lonesome dark / and whistled early with the lark” (2-4). A man with a healthy state of mine. However, later his living condition take a turn for the worst “in winter trenches cowed and glum / with crumps and lice and lack of rum” (5-6). This could have been one of the contributing factor that led to his …show more content…
A global war where many nations participated. There is still wars going on right today. The war against ISIS which is a global war. The war in Afghanistan, The Syrian Civil War which is still ongoing, and the Yemen Civil War. Couple this information with the high rate of suicide of soldiers and it seem that Sassoon’s little poem bear an uncanny resemblance to the world right now.
The reason behind these two poem is also relevant in today’s culture. At the time that “Do not go Gentle into that Good Night” was written, Thomas’s father, David John Thomas, was already diagnosed with cancer. He used the poem as a form of encouragement for his father. This provided context into “And you, my father, there on sad height / Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.” (16 – 17)
Sadly, even to this day, there is no definitive cure for cancer. This was a mourning son who needed to vent and encourage his father. A scene such as this is still a common sight in today’s world.
For Sassoon, his reason to create his work was very different. According to the BBC page Siegfried Sassoon was a British soldier during the time of World War I. He was wounded multiple times and became a decorated soldier. By all account he was a model soldier. However eventually, Sassoon became disillusioned with the war. He barely avoided court martial for writing a negative letter about the war and the
Through the uses of their poems in popular media today, the parallel the poems have to real life, and the reason these work were created, these two poems are still relevant today. Thomas’s “Do not go Gentle into That Good Night” is a villanelle. What is a villanelle? According to Persoon
“A villanelle is a French …show more content…
The work of Dylan Thomas is rip out of the pages of history and squarely placed onto the big screen. No longer is it just known in the circle of academia but revived inside the viewing public’s consciousness. While one work is brought back to life in popular movies, the other work mirror real life. Sassoon’s “Suicide in the Trenches” is a war poem that take place in World War I. The main character of the poem “a simple soldier boy” ended his own life “He put a bullet through his brain / No one spoke of him again.” (7-8) showing us all small glimpses into one of the horrible reality of war. The toll war take on a mind of a man.
Sassoon take the reader on a journey of the mind. In the beginning the soldier is a man who “who grinned at life in empty joy / slept soundly through the lonesome dark / and whistled early with the lark” (2-4). A man with a healthy state of mine. However, later his living condition take a turn for the worst “in winter trenches cowed and glum / with crumps and lice and lack of rum” (5-6). This could have been one of the contributing factor that led to his …show more content…
A global war where many nations participated. There is still wars going on right today. The war against ISIS which is a global war. The war in Afghanistan, The Syrian Civil War which is still ongoing, and the Yemen Civil War. Couple this information with the high rate of suicide of soldiers and it seem that Sassoon’s little poem bear an uncanny resemblance to the world right now.
The reason behind these two poem is also relevant in today’s culture. At the time that “Do not go Gentle into that Good Night” was written, Thomas’s father, David John Thomas, was already diagnosed with cancer. He used the poem as a form of encouragement for his father. This provided context into “And you, my father, there on sad height / Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.” (16 – 17)
Sadly, even to this day, there is no definitive cure for cancer. This was a mourning son who needed to vent and encourage his father. A scene such as this is still a common sight in today’s world.
For Sassoon, his reason to create his work was very different. According to the BBC page Siegfried Sassoon was a British soldier during the time of World War I. He was wounded multiple times and became a decorated soldier. By all account he was a model soldier. However eventually, Sassoon became disillusioned with the war. He barely avoided court martial for writing a negative letter about the war and the