A remembrance poem is a type of poem that commemorates a person or event from the past. It serves as a way to honor and remember those who have passed away or to reflect on a significant event that has shaped our lives. In this essay, we will analyze a remembrance poem and explore its themes, structure, and language.
One such poem that could be analyzed is "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas. This poem is a plea to the speaker's father to fight against death and not give in to it willingly. The poem is structured as a series of Villanelles, a form of poetry that consists of five tercets (three-line stanzas) followed by a quatrain (four-line stanza). Each tercet repeats the first and third lines of the first stanza, and the quatrain uses the repetition of the first and third lines in a new way.
The main theme of "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" is the struggle against death and the desire to hold onto life. The speaker urges his father to "rage against the dying of the light," to not give in to death peacefully. The speaker uses vivid imagery and metaphors to convey this message, such as "the dying of the light" and "the night." These images suggest the finality and darkness of death.
In addition to the theme of death, the poem also touches on the theme of the passage of time and the fleeting nature of life. The speaker implores his father to "not go gentle," to not accept death without a fight, because life is too precious to let go of easily. The repetition of the lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" serves to emphasize the urgency of this message.
The language of the poem is also noteworthy. Thomas uses repetition and rhyme to create a sense of musicality and structure in the poem. The repetition of the first and third lines in each stanza helps to create a sense of unity and cohesiveness in the poem. Additionally, the use of rhyme adds a sense of beauty and formality to the poem, despite its somber subject matter.
Overall, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" is a poignant and powerful remembrance poem that speaks to the universal theme of death and the human desire to hold onto life. Through its structure, language, and imagery, the poem captures the emotion and urgency of this struggle and serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of cherishing every moment of life.
10 of the Best Poems of Remembrance
Then did I check the tears of useless passion — Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine; Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten Down to that tomb already more than mine. In the next stanza, she expands on this idea. In the end, "Remembrance" is not just a statement on memory or loss. But, when the days of golden dreams had perished, And even Despair was powerless to destroy, Then did I learn how existence could be cherished, Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy. The speaker is apologizing about that stating that it is a fact of life when people want to move on. If she drinks too deeply of the pain of her loss she will return to the depths of despair that she experienced in the past.
Although much of her life was spent at the family home, she was avidly interested in the intellectual study, particularly in the literature coming out of Germany. Works Cited Allen, Maggie. She questions if this is the right way to feel about this loss and how she should properly mourn this man she loved. She was a poet, historian, author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director. Brontë packs a great deal of information into this relatively small space, right away. Moreover, the speaker is able to see his or her past relationship with the dead loved one through memory. Stanza Six But, when the days of golden dreams had perished, And even Despair was powerless to destroy, Then did I learn how existence could be cherished, Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy.
Love itself has come to represent both the emotional and personal connection between two lovers. GradeSaver, 9 June 2022 Web. It was first published in The Times in 1914 shortly after the outbreak of World War One, when the first signs of the devastation of modern warfare were becoming apparent. Finally, through her repetitions and patterns, Bronte is able to emphasize her rhythm even while she explores how two seemingly opposite concepts, such as utterly happy and utterly depressed, might be capable of existing at one and the same time within the same individual. It is vital to know the poet state of mind in order to relate or understand the poem.
What poem is read on Remembrance Day? Theme: love and longing. Cold in the earth—and fifteen wild Decembers, From those brown hills, have melted into spring: Speaker These lines highlight the passage of time between the speaker's most recent visit to her lover's grave and his death. Although this person is dead, the emotions never die because through memory they can come back. Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover Over the mountains, on that northern shore, Resting their wings where heath and fern-leaves cover Thy noble heart forever, ever more? Rosina asks whether she still remembers her beloved husband, so long after his death. Then she states that there is no other light and no other sorrow; all her pleasures and ecstasies lie with him in his grave.
The poem itself is a remembrance of the dead, but a call to arms for the next wave of soldiers on the front lines: Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. He died in 1824 at the age of 36 from a fever contracted after the First and Second Siege of Missolonghi. Later in life Byron joined the Greek War of Independence fighting the Ottoman Empire and died of disease leading a campaign during that war, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. However, it is also affirming of life in much the same way that the music of Beethoven was at once a lament for the past as well as a beautiful expression of the living present. Memory is portrayed here as a double-edged sword; whatever comfort she finds in remembering happier days, she feels equivalently devastated when she is reminded that they are long over.
Bronte was not the frivolous, light-hearted writer many of her contemporaries were but was instead deeply insightful, naturally spiritual, and fully aware of how the music of her poetry might affect the reading public. They know that he is never alone at the cemetery, never laying in the field filled with cold graves. This is a roundabout, poetic way of saying that she has not had another lover since this person died. In Victorian times they questioned many thing including tears, why do we have tears? Within her writing, Emily revealed a close affinity with nature and a dichotomous worldview; she saw everything in terms of balanced oppositions. The fifth stanza is a good example of anaphora.
Then did I check the tears of useless passion, Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine; Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten Down to that tomb already more than mine. We are the ones who will never need to be reminded that "We will Remember Them" As We are the ones who will always remember those we forever call friend. Aged 35 at the time, Young must have seen boys and young men signing up for service at sea when war was declared. The poem, to a large extent, feels like the speaker debating with herself about how to proceed with her life. The poem is written in eight quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme.
Famous WW1 Remembrance poems Much of the most famous war poetry was written during and about the First World War. But, when the days of golden And even Despair was powerless to destroy, Then did I learn how existence could be cherished, Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy. Diction: use of language and tenses. It is a poem dedicated to showing the complex difficulties of living with the memory of a lost loved one. She has remained in the darkness and night that was left behind when her lover died. Not in the metaphysical manner, but from within the Victorian sensibility. She underscores the emotional impact of this moment by noting that he is "far, far removed," meaning that he is entirely separated from her in his "dreary grave.
