Shakespeare’s sonnet “That time of year thou mayst in me behold” and Dylan Thomas’ villanelle, “Do not go gentle into that good night” share the common theme of death. The subject of death, however, can be approached from very different points of view depending on the attitude the author chooses for the narrator. Though Shakespeare and Thomas use similar tools such as language, imagery, and poetic structure to portray the last moments of life, they ultimately represent very different treatments of the subject; Shakespeare’s sonnet paints the picture of a natural, cyclical death while Thomas’ villanelle fights and “rages” against death through the last line. Though the two poems appear to take opposite sides on the topic of death, they ultimately end with the same sort of conclusion; death means the loss of something beloved but, “This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,/ To love that well which thou must leave ere long”, meaning that death makes love and appreciation of that love stronger.
The conclusions of both poems read as though they are more personal conclusions aimed more directly to the addressee of each poem, though it is made clear that each poem is coming from a different point of view. In Shakespeare’s sonnet an older, dying man in “the twilight of such day”, (perhaps Shakespeare himself) is addressing a younger man whom he is leaving behind. In Thomas’ villanelle, a younger man is addressing his dying father, beseeching him to “not go gentle into that good night/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Though they are chronologically at the same points in the timeline of death, both poems stay consistent with their treatment of the subject; for Shakespeare it is a natural, graceful occurrence and for Thomas it is something dark to fight against even in the last moments. The personal nature of both addresses, however, bring out such strong emotions that they could combine to serve as a full conversation between a younger, mourning man and an older man who has accepted death.
Though Shakespeare and Thomas and similarly and use similar imagery such as light and darkness and day and night, their use of language serves to create two very different tones for their discussions of death. In looking at the authors’ usage of light and dark as well as their usage of day and night it is clear that Shakespeare’s treatment of the contrast is considerably more gentle than Thomas’ use. Shakespeare describes the moments before death as “the twilight of such day” implying a gradual fading of life and a smooth, gentle transition to the close of life. He continues, describing the fading as “sunset fadeth in the west;/ Which by and by black night doth take away/ Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.” The associations with sunset are positive; not only is it considered a natural occurrence but it is also beautiful and calm. Even Shakespeare’s use of the word “black” lacks the darkness and gravity that the color is usually associated with. Instead, it is the blackness that “seals up all in rest” and allows the body to be at peace with death. Thomas’ use of light and dark, on the other hand, is far from gradual as the repletion of his lines take the form of a protest against the “close of day” calling for all kinds of men to “burn and rave” and “rage against the dying of the light.” Though the transformation to night is gradual, Thomas doesn’t describe an intermediate point and instead juxtaposes “bright” and dark, switching between the two and creating a sense of unrest and painting the picture of a violent and unwilling death.
Shakespeare continues to describe the process of dying with nature imagery, calling on the changing of the seasons to parallel the gradualness of death. Autumn is a season of changes between summer and winter. The leaves turn from “yellow leaves, to none, or few” as winter approaches just as a sickly or old person’s hair might begin to fall and change to grey or white. Shakespeare goes on to describe the loss of the voice as places “where late the sweet birds sang,” as the birds migrate to warmer places in the winter. Though autumn changes occur gradually, they are obvious changes often associated with beauty. By using beautiful imagery, Shakespeare emphasizes a natural and gentle view of death.
In addition to his use of contrasting imagery such as light and darkness, Thomas juxtaposes many ideas and images, creating a sense of unrest meant to mirror his discontentedness in accepting death easily. The first juxtaposition is between the different types of men, the wise and good versus the grave and wild men. Though each type of man served a different life, they are all supposed to “rave” and fight against the coming of death. By using all different types of men, Thomas is saying that regardless of your station in life, you should not accept death easily and should instead fight to remain with those you love.
Though both Shakespeare and Thomas’ poems have very different treatments of death, they ultimately make a cohesive pair. While Shakespeare approaches death from the perspective of an old man who has accepted nature, Thomas’s poem takes the point of view of a young boy or man being left to mourn his father. Ultimately, each poem is able to fill in the gap left by the other poem.
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