Thomas and Jonson on Persevering Love and Grief, Essay Example

The poem “On My First Son” by Ben Johnson generally speaks of a son who died at the age of 7, and his death caused great grief to his father. On the other hand, in the poem “Do not go gently into that good night” by Dylan Thomas, the persona insists that people resist death despite its inevitability. Both poems share a similar theme of Parent-Child Relationship and Grief. Both “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson and “Do not go gently into that good night” by Dylan Thomas describe persevering love through grief between a child and their parent. This love is expressed differently in tone; Thomas employs passion while Jonson remains grievous.

In the first stanza of the poem “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson, it is seen that the persona is saying goodbye to his son, who has just died. (Farewell, thou child of my right hand). In addition, we evident that the persona loved his son as we see that the child brought happiness into persona’s life (…my right hand and joy). We see that the persona had too many expectations towards his child’s life but ended up disappointed (My sin was too much hope). We also understand that the persona’s child is seven years old when he dies (Seven years thou’wert lent to me,); and the persona feels as if this is a debt he ought to pay to inform of deep grief demanded by the fate (.and I thee pay Exacted by the fate).

In Stanza two of the poem “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson, the stanza begins by showing as if the father to the child (persona) feels like he can give up his fatherly role(… could I lose all father now). However, we see him(persona) encouraging himself that he should not grief nor lament but should be jealous and somehow be happy for his child ( Will man lament the state he should envy?). He argues that by child dying, he has escaped the world’s desires and demands with those of his body at a very young age (To have ‘scap’d world’s and flesh’ rage). The persona also finds peace in the fact that his child will not have to face nor experience the challenges that people face when they grow old (… And, if no other misery, yet age?).

The third stanza of the poem “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson begins with the persona manifesting his condolences and grief by wishing his son to rest in eternal peace (… Rest in soft peace…). He also confirms that this is the best poem he has ever written in his whole life. (…Ben Jonson, his best piece of poetry.). The father to the child (persona) ends his poem by taking a vow that he will never love anything too much in the rest of his remaining life (all his vows be such As what he loves may never like too much).

The first stanza of the poem “Do not go gentle go to that good night” by Dylan Thomas begins with the persona (child) telling their parent that they should not accept nor appreciate death in a welcoming way, as he refers to end as a good night. He suggests that the elderly are the ones who should lead the other younger generations in fighting death. The persona says that people who have lived for many years should be brave and passionate enough to face and fight death as their lives come to an end ( Old age should burn and rave at the close of the day). Th persona urges the elderly to resist against the approaching darkness of their deaths (…Rage, Rage against the dying of the light.). The persona uses the writing style of repetition when he repeats the word Rage twice in the last sentence of the first stanza to emphasize resisting death. Considering the first poem, “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson in the first stanza, the persona seemed to have accepted when his son died, and he manifested his send-off message quickly in the first line of the stanza by saying,,, goodbye to his child. However, in the second poem, “Do not go gentle to that good night,” we see the persona talking against easy acceptance of death when he tells and emphasizes so much with passion on the elderly to resist death as their lives come to an end. These two cases bring forth the difference that the persona in the first poem, “On My First Son,” grieves but accepts death, whereas the persona in the poem “Do not go gently to that good night” passionately resists death.

In the second stanza of the poem, “Do not go gently in that good night,” the persona argues that the intelligent people understand that at the end of their lives, they all come into a comprehension that no one can cheat nor overcome death. Because they have not spoken any word against their understanding and awareness, the persona argues that there is nothing powerful enough to shock the world like a thunderstorm or perhaps lightning. By saying this, the persona states that no one should be allowed, or no one should resist the call to fight against the peaceful acceptance of death. Considering the second stanza of the poem “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson, the persona feels as if he should give up on his fatherly life. It indicates that he can be ready to die at any given time, or perhaps he can accept with peace and appreciation full of confidence the death. However, in the second stanza of the poem “Do not go gentle to that good night” by Dylan Thomas, we see the persona acknowledging that the wise people understand that death is inevitable. Still, even with that knowledge, the persona says that no one should refuse to resist death. These two cases bring forth the apparent difference between the two poems. The difference is that even though both personas are driven by love, one expresses his in a grieving manner showing weakness (On My First Son). Still, the other one (Do not go gentle in that good night)  shows his love in a passionate way and strength despite knowing that their parent will eventually die.

In the third stanza of the poem “Do not go gentle to that good night” by Dylan Thomas, the persona begins by praising some good people. He states that when good people realize that their time for dying has arrived, they do not celebrate, and neither do they show signs of appreciating or welcoming death. However, the persona states that good people start crying while mourning in grief because they were not able to achieve while they had time in this world. Good people are usually worried about the things that they could not accomplish. They acknowledge that even a single minute can significantly impact life, making a positive difference to the current state. In this behavior, the person argues that good people are interested in death resistance. Considering the second stanza of the poem “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson, the persona finds happiness in his child’s death. He argues that by his child dying at a young age, he has escaped the world’s challenges and demands at a very young age and will not face the challenges and hardships that face people as they age. This is contrary to the expectation of the persona of the poem “Do not go gentle to the good night” and in his definition of the good people, as he suggests that good people mourn in their death and are happy. These two cases bring forth the apparent difference between the two poems. The difference is that the person in the poem “On My First Son” is optimistic towards death, whereas the persona in the poem “Do not go gentle to that good night” is pessimistic towards the end.

In the fourth stanza of the poem “Do not go gently to that good night” by Dylan Thomas, the persona talks of the people that live lives full of jokes, enjoy life at that moment; to the fullest, and embrace so much fun as they joyfully ride the sky on the sun. When the time for death comes, they are usually surprised by the moments when they find out that the sun has already left them behind, and they must die. The persona says that they struggle to make peace with the situation and sometimes find themselves trying to do things they would have done when they had time, which is a sign of resistance against death. They refuse to die peacefully. According to stanza, in one of the poems, “On My First Son,” the persona talks of his child breaking at seven. We see the death of his child approaching the persona while he is not prepared. We see this by how much hope he had upon his child. In addition to that, he almost welcomed death to his doorstep when he felt of giving up because the sun had left his child behind. This contradicts the persona of the poem “Do not go gentle to that good night” by Dylan Thomas, who talks of people who disagree with the fate that they must die when they find that the sun has left them behind. These two cases manifest the apparent and obvious difference between the two poems. The difference between the two poems is that in the poem “On My First Son,” the persona is opportunistic at the event of death at the expense of grief and can be ready to respond to it at any given time. In contrast, in the poem “Do not go gentle to that good night,” the persona is determined to fight death regardless of the event or expense.

In the fifth stanza of the poem “Do not go to that good night” by Dylan Thomas, the persona talks of how serious people approach death without fear but in confidence and full of happiness. The persona says that when the severe people suddenly realize that it’s time to die, they have perhaps lost their sight and wared. Like meteors, their eyes usually become full of light and can symbolically overcome the oncoming darkness caused by the death. Their bodies are filled with strength to overcome the weaknesses of perhaps old age or the cause of death. This brings forth happiness. This eventually gives them the courage to resist death in boldness. Considering the last stanza of the poem “On My First Son” by Ben Jason, we find that the persona must have been a serious person to vow never to love anything too much. However, it is skeptical for him to match the character of a serious person.

On the contrary of the description of serious people by the persona of the poem “Do not go gentle to that good night,” a serious person should be filled with light and strength to face death in a resistant way. The difference is that despite both personas talking of seriousness, Ben Jonson shows us how the persona is serious and determined to follow the vow. Still, from another dimension, he is less determined when he is grieving. On the other hand, we see how the persona of the writer Dylan Thomas is determined in seriousness according to how he defines serious people.

In the final stanza of the poem “Do not go to that good night” by Dylan Thomas, the persona now talks to his father, who is a dying man. From the way he approaches his father’s situation, we see that even though the persona keeps talking about resisting death, at this point, the problem with his father is inevitable. He describes his father’s condition as being on the peak of a mountain, as if he is taking his last breath to rest. Following the final stanza of the poem “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson, we see the persona manifesting his condolences when his son dies by telling him to rest in peace and to rest in quiet peace without asking for much demands. He is the one who vows not to love too much.

On the contrary to Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do not go to that good night,” where we see the persona telling his father not to rest peacefully and resist the incoming death. These two cases clearly show the difference. The difference is that the persona in the poem “Do not go to that good night” is decisive and firm in his decision and determination. We see this when his father has his last breath, and the persona keeps asking him to resist death.

In summary, The poem “On My First Son” gives us themes like love, death, and grief, which tries to explain how the father suffered in suffering after the unexpected death of his seven years old child. On the other hand, the poem “Do not go gentle to that good night” symbolically explains the trial of the persona who emphasized death resistance. We have seen him trying this in his situation where his father is approaching the grave as he is on the mountain’s peak, but the persona keeps telling him to resist death.