Thursday, October 7, 2010
Don't do it!
"Do not go gentle into that good night" is a favorite of mine. I love villanelles, and this one is just about as good as it gets. I love that the speaker is able to use the repeated phrases in multiple ways and with multiple meanings. It gives an almost magical power to the poem. It seems like the speaker is pleading to the person who is dying not to go easily. He wants the person to go out with a bang. I also like that the poem sticks to the pattern and makes it work with the poem. It seems like the concept of a villanelle was made for this poem in particular. This Dylan Thomas fellow is rather brilliant. He really added some magic to this poem.
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I particularly liked that as well. Oftentimes, a villanelle just picks out two lines and repeats them wherever it's needed, but this poem makes the repeated lines fit into the context of a sentence, rather than being an independent thought. It's a statement and a command. Intriguing.
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