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.

Death, be not proud

This poem has a pretty nice little message to it. The speaker speaks directly to death (apostrophe!!) and tells it that he isn't scared of him. He is telling the reader not to be afraid of death, and not to let it control people's lives. It is much better to understand that it is inevitable, and just let it happen. I think that it is a pretty good message. If people let death rule their lives, they will forget about life itself. They just need to focus on what they can control and understand that it will happen eventually.
It seems to me that sticking it to death is a pretty common message in poetry. I feel like I have blogged about that message before. I guess if a poet is going to write about death, they might as well not be sad when they do.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (that's twenty of em).

"Edward" just might be one of the most annoying things that I have ever read. Despite that, it does have some good pattern to it. Most of the lines in the poem are repeated a few times. This creates a flow to the poem that makes it feel much more like a conversation. It also uses the word "O" twenty times. I'm not quite sure why the speaker does this, but it seems to add some sort of emphasis. I picture a person with their finger pointing at a person and scolding them. The mother and Edward seem to be in some crazy discussion where each person knows the answers to the other question, yet they ask anyway. That is why the mother never reacts to Edward's answers. She already knows what he did. She is actually the one who told him to kill his father.

Poor Lonely Hearts...

"Lonely Hearts" has a very sarcastic tone to it. It isn't really making fun of people, but more pointing out how ridiculous the people sounds. The fact that people specify the body shapes of the people they want, but not anything about personalities show the subtle shot at society. The speaker seems to feel that the people don't really want love when they send out these ads. The sarcastic suggestions that the people are looking for love imply that sex is actually the craving of those writing the ads. I agree with the speaker. People focus way too much on the physical aspect of relationships, and too little on the actual substance of it.
On another note, I think that putting an ad in the newspaper is a ridiculous idea. If a person is desperate enough to look in the newspaper for love, then they probably aren't the best person to have a relationship with. No offense to those who use them, but I just think they are rather crazy. I doubt they ever work. Please find a new way of finding dates. That is all.

Oxen Schmoxen.

It seems to me that "The Oxen" is about Jesus, or it is at least supposed to remind us of Jesus. It is on Christmas Eve, involves a flock, straw, kneeling, and oxen. I think that it might be an allusion to Jesus. The speaker seems to be doubting his faith, or the truths behind it. He doubts whether the shepherds or folks like that actually came to see Jesus. He does say, however, that if he was told to go see some kneeling oxen, he would follow. The message and point of this poem isn't that clear. There are multiple ways that the poem can be interpreted. However, it is making me think, and that was the goal of the poet. This poem was not exactly one of my favorites.

What is a Dover Beach?

The beginning of the poem "Dover Beach" had some rather nice imagery in it. The calm sea and moon-blanched land has a very tranquil feel to it. It calms the reader down to where the speaker wants him to be, allowing him to get the full effect of the poem. It also sets a tone of calmness that has that same effect. I reminds me of a time in Sedona when I was sitting on my balcony of my hotel looking out over the area, and I felt a real, true calmness. Thought this poem deals with oceans and not red mountains, it did have that same effect on me.
The rest of the poem after the first stanza have a different effect. It compares faith to that ocean, but it has a negative connotation, because that faith has been lost. The speaker forces the reader to feel calm, then shoots him down by telling him that that calmness is gone. That is cruel yet effective.

Crossing the Bar

This guy has a pretty good message in his poem. In the poem, he wishes for a death without sadness. He understands that death is going to happen, so he doesn't want to feel sad himself and he doesn't want others to feel sad either. He wants to go in a peaceful way and know that he is going to be going to a better place. This is a good message for anyone in any time period to listen to. We are all going to die at some point, so why be sad while doing it? He also wants no sadness of farewell, so he doesn't want those around him to mourn either. That is the most difficult part. Most people have trouble dealing with the loss of a loved one, so being happy when someone dies is not a very easy task. And though it isn't easy, it will ease the pain in the end. This is a timeless message that everyone can relate to at some point in their lives.