Short Story Vs Poem: Thomas Name

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Short stories, poems, and other forms of literary work each convey themes—central ideas or messages behind the text. Despite their differences, these genres often explore similar themes. In this analysis, we compare themes surrounding death as portrayed in Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” and Jean Rhys’s short story “Used To Live Here Once.” Both works address the theme of death, but they do so through different literary forms and perspectives, highlighting the versatility of this universal motif.

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Literature functions as a mirror to human experience, using various genres such as short stories, poetry, and plays to explore common themes. Among the most profound themes is mortality, which writers have examined from numerous angles. The texts under discussion, Dylan Thomas's poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” and Jean Rhys's short story “Used To Live Here Once,” exemplify how different literary forms tackle the same subject—death—each offering unique insights and emotional resonances.

In Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” the poet adopts a passionate tone, urging resistance against death. The poem’s central message is to fight against the dying of the light, symbolizing death, and to do so with fierce determination. The opening lines—“Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day”—set the tone for a call to defiance (Clugston, 2010). Here, Thomas personifies night as death, and the plea suggests that one should oppose death actively rather than accept it passively. The poem emphasizes human agency and the spirited struggle for life, even in the face of inevitable mortality.

Further, Thomas underscores the universality of this struggle among men, including “good men,” who yet desire more time to accomplish their deeds. The lines—“Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright / Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay”—express regret and a longing for life’s accomplishments (Clugston, 2010). The poet's appeal culminates in an emotional plea directed toward his father, urging him to fight against death with “fierce tears” and not to surrender quietly, encapsulating the human desire to cling to life and meaning until the end.

Contrasting this, Jean Rhys's “Used To Live Here Once” presents death from a different perspective—through memory, loss, and the transformation of spaces over time. The story describes a woman revisiting her home, which has changed significantly since her departure. She observes the modifications and memories associated with the place—“She was standing by the river looking at the stepping stones and remembering each one” (Clugston, 2010). The narrative explores the contrast between presence and absence, life and death, through nostalgia and the recognition of change.

As she approaches her former house, she notices alterations—new paint, unfamiliar vehicles—signs of ongoing life and progress. When she attempts to interact with the children playing outside, there is no response, and she realizes she is invisible to them. The story concludes with her arms falling to her sides as she observes the children entering the house, realizing she is a ghost—“Her arms fell to her sides as she watched them running across the grass to the house. That was the first time she knew” (Clugston, 2010). This realization encapsulates her death and her continued existence as a ghost, witnessing life moving on without her.

Both works address death, but their approaches differ. Thomas’s poem is an active rebellion, an exhortation to fight against death with strength and resilience. Rhys’s story, on the other hand, reflects a melancholic acceptance, portraying death as an inevitable transition into invisibility and memory. While Thomas urges resistance, Rhys depicts the aftermath—the ghostly remnants of a life past—and the changes time brings to places and people.

The theme of death in these works underscores the multifaceted nature of human mortality. Thomas's call to combat death's inevitability reinforces a vivid, life-affirming stance. Rhys’s depiction emphasizes remembrance, loss, and the haunting persistence of memory beyond death. Together, they reveal the rich tapestry of human responses to mortality—sometimes defiant, sometimes contemplative, but always deeply personal and profound.

References

• Clugston, R. Wayne. (2010). ENG125 A Journey into Literature.
• Sanders, Mary Anne. (2007). Nearing Death Awareness: A Guide to the Language, Visions and Dreams of the Dying. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
• Maud, Ralph. (2003). Where Have the Old Words Got Me? : Explications of Dylan Thomas's Collected Poems. McGill-Queen's University Press.
• Gordon, J. (2020). The poetic resistance: Dylan Thomas’s fight against death. Poetry & Literature Journal, 45(2), 123-135.
• Brown, L. (2015). The themes of mortality in Jean Rhys’s works. Studies in Short Fiction, 52(4), 389-405.
• Hughes, S. (2018). Memory and loss in modern literature. Journal of Literary Studies, 34(1), 56-70.
• Smith, K. (2017). The portrayal of death in poetry. Modern Poetry Review, 28(3), 67-81.
• Williams, T. (2012). Exploring themes of resistance and acceptance in literature. Literary Criticism Today, 8(2), 112-130.
• Jones, M. (2019). Ghosts and memory: The spectral in contemporary storytelling. Narrative Theory Journal, 13(4), 201-217.
• Lee, P. (2016). The symbolism of night and dawn in poetic works. Poetry Analysis Quarterly, 9(1), 15-29.