Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead

"He's ready. I am not. I can't just say good-bye as cheerfully as if he were embarking on a trip to make my later trip go well."

This poem can be comparable to "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night". Both seem to be about a son talking to his father. The father is dying. Neither son seems to be okay with their father dying. However, this poem takes a different appraoch than the first. This poem has a calmer and indifferent tone. The speaker is not sure of what he thinks of his father dying, but his father is absolutely sure he's ready to die. In the other poem, the speaker is demanding and angry. The two tones of the poem really give each of them a unique feel.

Edward

"O I have killed my father dear, Mother, Mother, O I have killed my father dear, Alas, and woe is me, O!"

What I love about this poem is that it's unconventional. I did not expect anything that was gonig to happen in the poem. My favorite part is that it has two climaxes that were unexpected. I did not expect him to kill his father. I also didn't understand at the end that his mother commanded him to. After rereading it a couple times, I finally inferred that the mother just wanted to reap the rewards. This poem was so unconventional because it was so dark and unexpected. Poems we've read in class don't have this much interesting drama!

Delight in Disorder

"A sweet disorder in the dress kindles in clothes a wantonness."

This whole poem is an example of a paradox. Specific oxymorons and paradoxes, like "sweet disorder", contribute to the theme of the poem. All the paradoxes are saying that a woman's imperfections makes her charismatic. Another example of a paradox in the poem is "wild civilty". Its purpose is to demostrate the rebellious nature and style of this woman, and the poem itself. But this nature in fact makes the poem and the woman civil. This sonnet is not a typical sonnet. It doesn't fit typical sonnet structure. Therefore, the structure appeals to the theme as well because it is imperfect, yet that is what makes it unique.

Death, be not proud

"Death, be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;"

This poem is an apostrophe. The speaker is directly addressing death. The purpose of the apostrophe is to directly tell death that it is not as mighty and powerful as others think. This poem compares death to pleasurable deep sleep, and says that poison, war, and sickness are the things that actually kill. Directly addressing death in such a desperate way contributes to the theme of the poem. The speaker is trying to convince himself that death really isn't as mighty as it seems, yet the speaker doesn't fully believe that. This is effective because it makes apparent the contradiction within the poem. It also contributes to the theme of desperately convincing.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

The above quote is an example of a refrain. The refrain is repeated in every stanza in some way. The purpose is to emphasize the theme of the poem. The commanding tone and the word "rage" lets the reader know the speaker is not okay with this person in their life dying. They are commanding the father to not go into the light and to hold on longer. It is effective because the reader picks up on the tone, which contributes to the theme. Without this refrain, the emphasis on command would not be there. The commanding in the refrain is the center theme and tone of the whole poem.