Verified Document

Comparing A Poem To A Song Term Paper

¶ … Gentle into That Good Night and This Is it: A Comparison Dylan Thomas' poem Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night and the Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald song This Is It both deal with the mortality of man. Each is a plea to a dying father, Thomas' and Loggins', not to give up the good fight as they neared death. Both works are saying that even at the end of life one should choose to fight against the inevitability of death.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Thomas' poem is composed of six stanzas of three lines each except the sixth with four. The rhyme scheme is A, B, A with the last line alternating between Rage, rage against the dying of the light, and Do not go gentle into that good night. The last stanza ends with both refrains, thus the extra line and an A, B, A, A pattern. Except for the second line of stanza five each line in the poem has ten syllables. The first syllable in a line is unstressed, the second is stressed, the third is unstressed, and the fourth is stressed, and so on. Thus, the poem is in iambic pentameter.

Thomas begins his poem with second person point-of-view telling his father and the readers to fight tell the last gasp. The second is line Old age should burn and rave at the close of day. Close of day refers to the end of life. The dying of the light refers to death. He switches to third person in the second stanza making a declarative statement when he says wise men "do not go gentle." The statement that dark is right refers to the inevitability of death, however, this does not preclude on from resisting death's grip. The third stanza continues in the third person and is one declarative sentence and expresses a similar message as the second stanza, men facing death realize they could have done more and thus fight against the dying of the light. The fourth stanza, again in third person and a single declarative sentence, continues with the same message. The term wild men has the same force as good men and wise men, and though these men had their moment...

In the fifth stanza grave or serious men also fight against death for they too see with blinding sight that death is the end. Thomas is imploring us not to be blinded by death's presents. The sixth stanza returns to second person as Thomas notes that if his father cursed him it would be evidence of the fact that he had not given up, and thus a blessing.
This is It

The title of the song, "This Is It," refers to the time before death when one has a choice of fighting or succumbing to death. This song, inspired by Kenny Loggins' dying father is, like Thomas' poem, a plea not to give in to death.

At one point in the song's evolution, its melody was underway, but the lyrics were incomplete. Loggins moved it forward after a visit to his ailing father, who had undergone a series of surgeries for vascular problems stemming from small strokes and was discouraged at the prospect of another. The song was originally conceived as a love song. However, Loggins revealed that after talking with his father he "gave me the feeling that he was ready to check out. He'd given up, he wasn't thinking in terms of the future" (Song Facts). This inspired the artist to rework the piece as a 'life song'.

The song is a pretty straight forward message to his father about how he feels his father should face death. The piece begins with the lyric "There've been times in my life, I've been wondering why." The 'why' may be interpreted as the meaning of life.

Later in the song Loggins states, "No time for wondern' why. It's here, the moment is now, about to decide." In other words, if his father gives in the decision of life or death will be made for him. "You make the choice of how it goes…For once in your life, here's your miracle. Stand up and fight. This is it!" This is it only if his father wants it to be.

Loggins softens the message at one point saying, "Let 'em believe. Leave 'em behind. But keep me near…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Songs of Kabir A Review
Words: 547 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Songs of Kabir The poetry of mysticism is as a type of prophecy or a temperamental reaction towards Reality vision. It is a unique mystical consciousness commitment to mediate between having a good relationship with God and sharing eternity secrets with men. It means the artistic consciousness self-expression possesses two attributes. It is love-poetry written with a missionary purpose. Kabir is a popular spiritual saint in India. The songs of Kabir

Song: Romeo "From Forth the
Words: 1404 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Of course, the question arises: why is the Andy Williams song a perfect theme for Romeo and not Juliet? Juliet, in contrast with Romeo, is more intelligent in her love than Romeo, and although she loves him, she does not as fully embrace his absolute belief that love will make everything come out right. "Though I joy in thee, / I have no joy of this contract to-night: / It is

Song -- Go and Catch a Falling
Words: 715 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Song -- Go and catch a falling star" by John Donne It was said that Donne's poem was likely written when he was in a drunken mood and possibly, too, when he was rejected by his lover or disappointed in his love. Describing the difficulty of finding virtuous women in the world, Donne uses the similes of catching falling stars, pregnancies with mandrake roots and teaching mermaids to sing. "Ride

Song Paparazzi Lady Gaga. I Originally Submitted
Words: 754 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

song paparazzi Lady Gaga. I originally submitted instructor file I uploading. He replied back: You made a small, important mistake. Your essay song. What song? What meaning song? What song? Lady Gaga's song "Paparazzi" Lady Gaga's song "Paparazzi" is written in the voice of an obsessed lover. The female speaker literally and figuratively compares herself to a dedicated paparazzo, stalking her victim: "I'm your biggest fan/I'll follow you until you love

Compare the Divine Comedy and the Odyssey
Words: 1811 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

Divine Comedy vs. The Odyssey Both Dante's epic poem The Divine Comedy and Homer's The Odyssey begin in media res, or in the middle of the protagonists' respective stories. Dante, the narrator, has reached middle age and is confronted with the specter of Virgil, his favorite pagan poet. Virgil leads Dante on a journey through hell, purgatory, and ultimately heaven. Virgil instructs the living, Italian Renaissance poet in the ways

Compare and Contrast Everyman and the Song of Roland
Words: 1170 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Everyman and the Song of Roland focuses on the leading characters of the plays, namely, Everyman and Roland. This paper gives an in depth analysis of Everyman and the ingredients necessary for any man to abode paradise. This paper also reviews the character of Roland and how he earned great praise and respect not only among his mortal friends but also among angels and saints in heaven. By comparing

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now