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Literature & Language
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English (U.S.)
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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Essay

Essay Instructions:

******Read the following two poems. In a well-written essay present both comparisons (similarities) and contrasts (differences) of the authors' development of the themes. Be sure to analyze tone, metaphor, simile, diction, stylization, and most importantly, the core meaning of the selections (for definitions of these terms,
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage 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 it 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.
By Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
Psalm of Life
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! –
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)

Criteria for writing this essay:
** 3 pages
***Present both comparisons (similarities) and contrasts (differences) of the authors' development of the themes.
***Be sure to analyze tone, metaphor, simile, diction, stylization, and most importantly, the core meaning of the selections.
*** make sure on plagiarism free.
**** If you use any sources, make sure that you mentioned work cited and page number.
Thank you again.

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Literary Analysis: Poetry
Similarities and Differences of the authors
First of all, both authors view death like any other challenge which should not deter men from pursuing their dreams albeit its inevitability. The first poem, do not go gentle into that good night, was written by Dylan Thomas to his dying father (Guo and Wang, 127). In it, he asks his father to rage, rage against the dying of the light. Essentially, the above stanza is a plea to his father to ignore the inevitable and aggressively while pushing the thoughts of death further away. In the second poem, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow asks his readers the derailment that often stems from one’s past and to live in the present while always being aware of their eventual fate that is death. Longfellow is an optimist, and instead of waiting for the day of his death, he asks that his readers remain vigil and pursue their dreams in spite of their eventual end. Dylan and Longfellow are similar in thinking, and to them, life is an opportunity, and everyone should take it as such.
Secondly, both authors believe that people should never give in to the adversities of life. In life, people experiences different challenges, and while some throw down the towel easily, others push forward and keep aiming higher. Dylan notes that all men (good men, grave men, wise men, and wild men) do have challenges, but neither of them should give in to dying of the light. He asks them to fight and push past their challenges and always aim for greater in spite of their fateful end. Conversely, Longfellow depicts death as any other challenge which people should avoid magnifying and find a way to enjoy life still and achieve their dreams. Longfellow further pleads with his readers and explains to them that hard work has no substitute and no excuse should be viable especially when one is faced with a challenge. Be not like dumb, driven cattle! Be a hero in the strife! In the above lines, he is charging his readers always to stand and fight. When juxtaposed with Dylan’s message, one cannot fail to feel and also see their call for vigilance especially in the face of adversity.
One major difference between them is that Dylan was inspired by the sight of his father’s death while Longfellow seems to have lived by this mantra for a long time. It is widely believed that Dylan wrote the poem for his dying father but as for Longfellow who grew up in very fortunate circumstances, life should not begin in the event of death,...
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