Death as a theme in Modern Poetry
Death has been and always will be an interesting and compelling topic among poets and authors alike. Death sheds a mysterious vale over life and is often avoided or dreaded within people causing diversity among the reactions of modern poetry and thought. Mortality can be treated as a crisis, a destination, with significance or without, as well as (sadly) by some as a goal. Death provides a wide spectrum of ideas that can be expanded upon with dignity or as a magnanimous ideal. The poets that I have read and pondered deliver an array of insight on the topic; from its grotesqueness to its humbleness. They approach or meditate upon death with disgust as well as with nonchalance. Overall I think that although the poets each dissect and interpret our inevitable encounter in variation they all would agree in its mystery and finality. To live, especially with comfort and respect, can often be, and is usually, a difficult as well as unavoidable task. Dying can be viewed in much the same way. Although you sometimes have a choice, often death is sudden and miserable and can end a life with little or no grace. I think Randall Jarrell would agree with me on this point. In his poem "The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner" Jarrell ex
My death should not ruin somebody's or everybody else's life. I have already shown that certain poets believe that death is an easy thing to come by, so now how would that relate to our lives? Theodore Roethke discusses this in his poem "The Waking. " In this poem Thomas realizes that death is imminent but he still does not appease it by sacrificing the routines of his life to try and completely avoid dying. "When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. Death results in some grieving but for the most part, most of the population carries on with their everyday lives. The man who dies in the poem (which is I would also call a story) does have control over his fate in this situation. Death is a common and natural occurrence that is unavoidable so live without consideration of it. Any death related to the destruction of this city would show how a person's death is not up to himself or herself but that it is decided by fate. Each gave their own interesting twist to what they thought life was when compared or shown in accordance with death and dying. Wise men in his poem "know dark is right" (which I am hoping means that they know death is right and death will come) but even they "do not go gentle into that good night. To "wake" is probably synonymous with "to live" and "to sleep" is probably related to "to die. In his poem "Dead Man's Dump" he remarks, "A man's brains splattered on A stretcher-bearers face;" this hideous observation points out to us how un-heroic death on a battlefield actually is. " In this poem he states "Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Common topics in this essay:
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Acceptance Essays
