DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

About The Poet
Dylan Marlais Thomas was born on October 27, 1914, in Swansea, South Wales. His father was an English Literature professor.
Thomas was an introverted and undistinguishable child. He read all of D. H. Lawrence‘s poetry, impressed by vivid descriptions of the natural world. Fascinated by language, he excelled in English and reading but neglected other subjects. He dropped out of school at sixteen to become a junior reporter for the South Wales Daily Post. By December of 1932, he left his job at the Post and decided to concentrate on his poetry full-time. It was during this time, in his late teens, that Thomas wrote more than half of his collected poems. Thomas also worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC.
Unlike his contemporaries, T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden, Thomas was not concerned with exhibiting themes of social and intellectual issues, and his writing, with its intense lyricism and highly charged emotion, has more in common with the Romantic tradition. In fact, his attitude, coupled with his work, made him the prototype Romantic poet of the popular American imagination. He was flamboyantly theatrical, an alcoholic and frequently engaged in public riots, and was openly emotional at his poetry readings.
Thomas style of writing is described in one of the letters: “I make one image—though ‘make’ is not the right word; I let, perhaps, an image be ‘made’ emotionally in me and then apply to it what intellectual & critical forces I possess—let it breed another, let that image contradict the first, make, of the third image bred out of the other two together, a fourth contradictory image, and let them all, within my imposed formal limits, conflict.”
Two years after the publication of 18 Poems, Thomas met the dancer Caitlin Macnamara at a pub in London. Macnamara and Thomas engaged in an affair, and the couple got married in 1937. Despite the passionate love letters Thomas would write to her, the marriage was turbulent, with rumors of both having multiple affairs.
In 1947 Thomas was awarded a Travelling Scholarship from the Society of Authors in Italy. While in Florence, he wrote In Country Sleep, And Other Poems (Dent, 1952), which includes his most famous poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night.” When they returned to Oxfordshire, Thomas began work on three film scripts, namely, “Me and My Bike,” “Rebecca’s Daughters,” and “The Beach at Falesia,” for Gainsborough Films.
Michael Schmidt, in reference to Thomas’ work, writes: “There is a kind of authority to the word magic of the early poems; in the famous and popular later poems, the magic is all show. If they have a secret it is the one we all share, partly erotic, partly elegiac. The later poems arise out of personality.”

About the poem:

“Do not go gentle into that good night”, written by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in 1951, is considered to be one of his finest works. It is widely considered to be the most famous example of the poetic form known as the villanelle, a nineteen-line poetic form consisting of five tercets followed by a quatrain. There are two refrains and two repeating rhymes, with the first and third lines of the first tercet repeated alternately until the last stanza, which includes both repeated lines. The poem has no title other than its first line, “Do not go gentle into that good night”, a line which appears as a refrain throughout. The poem’s other equally famous refrain is “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. Originally published in the journal Botteghe Oscure in 1951, it also appeared as part of his 1952 collection In Country Sleep and other poems.
Thomas, in the poem, addresses his father who is losing his life to a terminal illness. He laments the confrontation of his father’s loss of health and strength and urges him to struggle against death instead of meekly giving in to it. The question of death in old age is raised in the poem, but the focus is the grief and rebellion of the poet as he wrestles against the face of death or “dying of the light”. It also focuses on the exertion of frustration at the natural order of things that we are powerless to change. There is an explicit nature of urgency in the speaker’s tone and the raw energy of emotions underlying it which makes it one of the most powerful poems of all time. The poet himself certainly burned with a zest for life but sadly, lived it recklessly, drinking heavily, and died a year after the poem was published, in 1952.

Critical Analysis:

Though the poem has a very personal edge to it, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas, is a poem that is applicable to every single human being. It addresses one of the most macabre, yet inevitable truths of life, death. Man’s usual approach towards life is to go with the flow or take life as it comes. Thomas clearly disagrees with this view as he feels that a person’s life, or death, must be dictated only by his own rules. He tells men to “not go gentle into that good night”. In the entire poem, night has been repeatedly used as a metaphor for death. This may be because when we wake up in the morning, we are all spirited and dynamic, but as the day passes, tiredness seems into our activities and makes us lethargic, and by the time night closes in upon us we seem to have lost all our zeal and passion. On a wider forum, during his youth, man is bubbling with enthusiasm and is constantly striving to reach greater heights and accomplish tasks. But, as old age creeps upon him, he grows isolated from the vibrancy of life, and settles into his own cocoon and waits for death. This outlook has been severely criticized by Thomas as he feels that every man should rage against death. Basing on this perspective he gives examples of four different kinds of men.

In the second stanza, he refers to wise men who know that death is inevitable. Though these men have accomplished things, yet they feel that they are capable of doing a lot more. They are being told to do something extraordinary, like splitting lightning, before they die. In the next stanza, Thomas is talking about righteous, good men. These men regret dying too soon because if they were allowed to live a little longer, they could have accomplished a lot more. They are Chremamorphism as sea waves that have not been allowed to play in the bay for a little longer and have crashed on the shore too soon. The poet brings up the third man, who is wild. The wild men larked about their youth and when they reached old age, they were remorseful of their shallowness; yet the poet is encouraging them to not concede living the life they enjoy. Lastly, the poet talks about grave men. The grave is used as a pun here as grave can refer to both serious, and men who are nearing their graves, or who are close to dying. This stanza is a reference to men whose faculties are failing because of old age and frailty, yet they are not letting these limitations deter them from dying in the manner that they want.

The last stanza is clearly addressed to the poet’s father and it is here that we discover that Thomas is pleading with his father to live longer, to not die before accomplishing something great which will immortalize him. He begs his father to rage against death by mustering up all his anger, passion, and zeal for life. The poet’s desperation and tense state of mind are characterized by him telling his father to either curse or bless, but do whatever it takes to cry out passionately and heroically against death.

THAT’S SUCCESS

About the Poet:

Berton Braley, an American poet, inherited writing skills from his father, who died when he was seven. He began writing at an early age of eleven when his fairy tale got printed by a small publication. He is one of the most-read American poets of his era with a collection of 11,000 written verses and many short stories. His attitude of being optimistic at all times distinguished him from others. He is added to the lost American author’s list. A reason for this is that he was a contemporary of Frost and thus, got easily lost and overshadowed by Frost’s works. His poems are straightforward and easy to understand and this might also be the reason for the lost interest in his poetry which lacked ambiguity, unlike his contemporary poets. His poets try to touch many themes of capitalistic society, success, love, passion, values, morals, which is a reason his works are not taught in American schools.

STANZA WISE SUMMARY

Stanza 4

It’s going onward despite the defeat,
And fighting staunchly, but keeping sweet;
It’s being clean and it’s playing fair,
It’s laughing lightly at Dame Despair.

Somewhat a continuation of the last stanza, this stanza says that even if one fails, the real success lies in not giving up and marching on. Braley tells his readers to fight determinedly, but stay clean. The sweetness of success lies in fair play, without letting it get tarnished because of resorting to unfair means. Here hopelessness has been personified as “Dame Despair”. One should not be let down by his losses and should never give up on righteousness in his bid to attain success. If moral means are followed to reach the end, then man can mock hopelessness on her face and move ahead.

Stanza 5

It’s looking up at the stars above,
And drinking deeply of life and love;
It’s struggling on with the will to win,
But taking the loss with a cheerful grin.

Success is looking up at the stars and endeavoring to reach them. It is about man’s ambitions and the hard work which he does to accomplish his goals. But, success should not be made synonymous with material goods. Real success lies in happiness and contentment, which is available to man in the form of life and love. The road to success is not a bed of roses. The poet tells all about the struggle that man has to undergo to reach success. One shouldn’t lose their will till the very end, despite all the obstacles that they might face. At the same time, they should not let loss or failure push them down. They should take their losses on their stride and continue working with enthusiasm. With every loss, man learns something new, gets a lesson. Hence, he should accept the failures with a smile and mold them into something productive.

Stanza 6

It’s sharing sorrow and work and mirth,

And making better this good old earth;
It’s serving, striving through strain and stress,
It’s doing your noblest – that’s a success!

In this concluding stanza, the poet encompasses all his thoughts and compresses them into these four lines. He says that real success is sharing joy, sadness, and work, all equally and making this world a better place to live in. There is a message of peace and harmonious living in these lines. Success is about serving others and attempting to overcome strain and stress and other obstacles that fall in one’s path. Being noble, magnanimous, loftiness of mind, spirit, and principles is what makes a man successful.

Critical Analysis:

That’s Success by Berton Braley is a universal poem that any dynamic, ambitious man can relate to. Enlisting all the ingredients that are necessary for brewing up success, this poem is a self-esteem booster. Written in a simple, decipherable language, the poet has made use of precise, piercing words that ensure that the impact of the poem is not compromised. The first stanza is an introduction to the theme of this poem and provides the reader with a base as to what is to come next. The highlight of this stanza is the line about making money, yet holding friends. A man usually has a misconception that to become rich he must sacrifice all his worldly relationships. Mostly, in his chase for attaining success, man ignores or neglects his family ties. Braley clearly states that without the comfort of any companionship it is impossible for man to achieve the true essence of success. The second stanza is about the clarity of thoughts that is necessary for reaching a particular goal. If a man is confused or unsure about his plan of action if he doesn’t know why he wants success or what his definition of success is, then he won’t be able to pursue his dreams. The consequent stanzas mostly talk about how failure should not deter a man from pursuing success. It is inevitable that the path to success will be sprinkled with obstacles. But, if a man truly wants to taste success, then he must be willing to take these difficulties in his stride and keep marching forward. He should make hard work his armor and face all adversities. There will always be a distraction and enticing short cuts, but it is upon man himself to not get tempted to ditch his moralities and values and choose the easier, but wrong way. Success tastes sweeter if it has been achieved by sheer labor and righteousness. Success is also not just confined to one’s personal self. Doing good for society, sharing your joy with others, that is a success. Success is being noble.

Tone:

The poet uses an inspirational and motivational tone throughout the poem. The words and the language used in the poem act as morale boosters and inspire the reader to chase success, but in a moral way. Braley has made use of simple, yet the effective language that can reach all men, as the desire for success is a commonality. That’s Success has a simplistic and straightforward tone.

Central Idea:

As is evident from the title of the poem, That’s Success is a poem that completely revolves around what exactly is meant by success and what are requirements for achieving it. Comprising of six stanzas, this poem begins with giving the main idea as to what constitutes success and moves on to highlight the other intricacies of success. The major intention of the poet has been to inspire the reader to pursue success in a true and righteous manner, despite all the obstacles that he faces. Only this will ensure the achievement of real success, contentment, and happiness. Resorting to unfair means mars the beauty of reaching one’s goal. Thus, there is no shortcut to success and one has to tread on the field of success with hard work as their armor and brave the path that is riddled with risks and failures.

The Crocodile and the Monkey

About the poem:

A poetic version of the moral tale of a crocodile and a monkey from the Panchatantra, The crocodile and the monkey by Vikram Seth is one of the poems from Seth’s Beastly Tales from Here and There, which is a collection of moralistic poems with animals depicting human traits. In the poem, a wife’s needs displace a friend’s.  Mrs. Crocodile is drawn as a zaftig, scaly monstrosity with the expression of a nagging, vain, cuckolding wife. A good monkey may be hard to find, but Kuroop the crocodile has no choice but to satisfy his wife’s prandial passion by acquiring the mango-rich heart of the monkey. Only a foolish monkey would be so kind as to give a lowly crocodile the freshest mangoes from the trees. Kuroop the crocodile falsely convinces the monkey to attend their home across the river for a dinner. While the monkey rides upon his back, Kuroop generously offers him a choice as to the manner of death. But the monkey is not so easily duped by trickery. By cleverly stating that he never carries his precious heart with him and has left it in the trees on the shore from which they came, the monkey is saved. And upon his return, he crowns Kuroop with rotten mangoes hurled from the trees. The main moral is that one should not trust those who are normally untrustworthy. Even when we are walking towards our death, if our ‘friend’ backstabs us, we should not give up. We still have hope at the last moment as long as we do not give up.

Line wise explanation of the poem:

On the Ganga’s greenest isle
Lived Kuroop the Crocodile:
Greeny-brown with a gentle grin,
Stubby legs and scaly skin,
He would view with tepid eyes,
Prey below a certain size
But when the substantial dish
Dolphin, turtle, fatter fish
Swam across his field of view,
He would test the water too.
Out he’d glide, a floating log,
Silent as a polliwog
Nearer, nearer, till his prey
Swam single length away;
Then he’d lunge with smiling head,
Grab, and snap, and rip it dead

Then (prime pleasure of his life)
Drags the carcass to his wife,
Lay it humbly at her feet,
Eat a bit, and watch her eat.

The poem begins with the introduction of Kuroop, the crocodile. Kuroop inhabits the greenest island situated on the river Ganga. This is continued with the physical description of Kuroop, mentioning the skin of a greenish-brown color and a scaly texture. The crocodile has small, stubby legs and a perpetual gentle grin, and his eyes hold an apathetic expression. His hunting skills have been elaborated upon. Whenever Kuroop would pry any prospective preys crossing, he would follow them, as silent as a tadpole, until he’d be close enough to lunge at and tear them. Then he would carry the hunted to his wife and present it to her and together they would devour it.

All along the river-bank
Mango trees stood rank on rank,
And his monkey friend would throw
To him as he swam below
Mangoes gold and ripe and sweet
As a special summer treat
“Crocodile, your wife I know
Hunger after mangoes so
That she’dpine and weep swoon,
Mangoes-less in burning June.”
The Kuroop the crocodile,
Gazing upwards with smile,
Thus the addressed his monkey friend:
“Dearest monkey, in the end,
Not the fruit, but your sweet love,
Showered on us from above,
Constant through the changing years,
Slakes her griefs and dries her tears.”
(This was only partly true
She liked to love, and mangoes too.)

The scene described is one of a mangrove, which is known by the mention of mango trees surrounding the river. The monkey, from the title of the poem, is introduced here. The monkey, being able to climb on trees, would pluck mangoes from the trees and throw them down to the crocodile so that he could take them to his wife. The monkey’s kindness and consideration are known through these lines as he wants to wipe away the crocodile’s wife’s grief and satiate her hunger for golden sweet mangoes. Kuroop also acknowledges the monkey’s gratuitous gesture and thanks to him for how he has been constantly showering his love through mangoes on Kuroop and his wife.

One day Mrs. Crocodile,
Gorged on mangoes, with a smile
Sad, yet tender- turned and said:
“Scalykins, since we’ve been wed,
You’ve fulfilled my every wish
Dolphins, turtles, mangoes, fish
But I now desire to eat,
As an anniversary treat,
Something sweeter still than fruit,
Sugar-cane or sugar-root:
I must eat that monkey’s heart.”
“What?” “Well, darling, for a start,
He has been so kind to me;
Think how sweet his heart must be:
Then, the mango pulp he’s eaten
Year on year must serve to sweeten
Further yet each pore and part,
Concentrating on his heart.”
“Darling, he’s my friend.” I know;
And he trusts you. Therefore go-
Go at once and fetch him here
Oh, my breath grows faint, I fear…”
“Let me fan you- it’s the heat”
“No- I long for something sweet.
Every fruit tastes bitter now.
I must eat his heart somehow.
Get him here, my love, or I,
Filled with bitterness, will die.”

While feasting on her sweet mangoes, one fine day Mrs. Crocodile, with a pitiable smile turned to her husband, Kuroop and pleaded with him that through all these years he has fulfilled every wish of hers and had fulfilled all her whims and fancies, from dolphins to turtles to mangoes and fishes. But now, her heart desires for something sweeter than all these delicacies as an anniversary gift; she yearns for the monkey’s heart. Her request leaves Kuroop aghast as the monkey has always been nothing, but overtly kind and a good friend to Kuroop and his wife. To this, Mrs. Crocodile justifies her wish to state a logic as to how over the years the sweetness of the mangoes that the monkey has consumed would have accumulated in his heart, coupled with his love and kindness, and this would have made his heart very sweet to taste. She further asserts her wishes by putting up a show of how she is crumbling with longing for the monkey’s heart. Kuroop tries to dissuade her but to no avail.

When the monkey saw Kuroop
He let out a joyful whoop,
Jumped from branch to branch with pleasure,
Flinging down the golden treasure:
“Eat, my friend, and take your wife
Nectar from the tree of life
Mangoes ripe and mangoes rare,
Mangoes, mangoes everywhere.”
Then Kuroop the crocodile
Gazed up with a gentle smile:
“Monkey, you are far too kind,
But today, if you don’t mind,
Dine with both of us, and meet
Her whose life you’ve made so sweet.
when you meet her you will see
Why she means so much to me.
When she takes you by paw
Something at your heart will gnaw.
When you gaze into her eyes
You will enter paradise
Let us show your gratitude:
Share our friendship and our food.”
“Dear Kuroop, dear crocodile,
You can swim from isle to isle.
I can leap from limb to limb,
But, my friend, I cannot swim.
And your island’s far away.
If I get a boat someday…”
“Nonsense; jump upon my back.
You’re no heavier than my sack
Filled with mangoes to the crown.”

When Kuroop goes down to fetch the monkey for his wife, the monkey sights him. He greets Kuroop by throwing down ripe, golden mangoes from the trees to him so that he can take them to his wife and they both can enjoy them together. This itself shows how considerate and affectionate the monkey was and how much he valued Kuroop as a friend. Then, Kuroop invites the monkey over to dine with him and his wife on the pretense of wanting to introduce the monkey to his wife. Kuroop’s words have a dual meaning here. The phrase “When she takes you by paw, Something at your heart will gnaw. When you gaze into her eyes, You will enter paradise”, can also be interpreted as a warning as he is suggesting that meeting his wife will lead to the monkey’s heart being gnawed and him entering paradise or afterlife. The monkey replies to this invitation saying that conveyance will be a hindrance as unlike the crocodile, he cannot swim. He says that if someday he gets access to a boat, he will surely visit the crocodile and his wife. Considering his wife’s urgency, the crocodile comes up with a solution and suggests the monkey climb on his back so that he can give him a ride to his abode.

So the monkey clambered down,
Bearing mangoes, and delighted
With such warmth to be invited.
They were just halfway across
When the crocodile said: “Toss
All the mangoes in the water.”
“But these fruits are all I’ve brought her.”
“You yourself are the gift enough,”
Said Kuroop in accents gruff.
“Ah, my friend, that’s very gracious.”
“Well, my wife’s not so voracious-
And I’m certain that today
She won’t eat fruit. By the way.
Tell me what your breast contains.
Mango nectar fills your veins.
Does it also fill your heart?”
Said the monkey with the start:
“What a very curious question.”
“Well, she might get indigestion
If it’s too rich, I suspect.”
“What?” “Your heart.” “My heart?” “Correct.”
“Now,” Kuroop said with a frown,
“Which would you prefer- to drown
In the Ganga or to be
Gutted by my wife and me?
I will let you choose your end.
After all, you are my friend.”
Then he slowly started sinking.
“Wait,” the monkey said, “I’m thinking.
Death by drowning, death by slaughter
Deat by land or death by water
I’d face either with a smile
For your sake, O crocodile!
But your wife felicity
That’s what means the most to me.
Noble lady! How she’ll freeze,
Dumb with sorrow, when she sees,
Having prised my ribs apart,
That my breast contains no heart.
If you had not rushed me so,
I’d have found the time to go
To the hollow where I keep
Heart and liver when I sleep,
Half my brain, and fingernail,
Cufflinks, chutney, and spare tail.
I had scarcely woken up
When you asked me here to sup.
Why did you not speak before?
I’d have fetched them from the shore.”

The monkey took to Kuroop’s invitation and clambered down upon his back. Halfway through their journey, Kuroop tells the money to toss all the mangoes that he has brought for his wife into the water. The monkey is surprised by this curious request and Kuroop clarifies by saying that the monkey himself is gift enough for his wife. He says that the monkey himself will be enough to satisfy his wife’s appetite and asks the monkey if his heart really is richly sweetened by the mango nectar, as this might lead to his wife suffering from indigestion. This conversation confuses the monkey and he finally is able to decipher Kuroop’s implication when Kuroop asks him whether he would prefer to drown in the Ganga or be slaughtered by his wife. The monkey appears to be deep in thought and replies finally by saying that he is ready to sacrifice his life for his friend. But, the main problem lies in the fact that the monkey contains his heart, not in his breast, but stores his heart, liver, half brain, fingernail, chutney and cufflinks in a hollow while he is sleeping. When the crocodile extended to him the invitation, the monkey has barely woken up, and hence he did not get the time to retrieve his heart from the hollow.

Now Kuroop the crocodile
Lost, then quickly found, his smile.
“How my sweetheart will upbraid me!
Monkey, the monkey you must aid me.”
“Well ” the monkey placed his paw
Thoughtfully upon his jaw
“Well, although the day is hot
And I’d really rather not
We could go back, fetch my heart,
Check its sweetness, and depart.”
So the crocodile once more
Swam the monkey back to shore,
And, with tears of thankfulness
Mingled with concern and stress,
Worried what his wife would say
With regard to his delay,
Begged his friend: “Come back at once.”
“I’m not such a double-dunce,”
Yelled the monkey from the high;
“Tell your scaly wife to try
Eating her own wicked heart
If she has one for a start
Mine’s been beating in my breast
Night and day without rest.
Tell her that and for you,
Here’s my parting gift” He threw
Mangoes squishy, rotten, dead
Down upon the reptile’s head,
Who, with a regretful smile,
Sat and eyed him for a while.

First a little apprehensive about deciding his course of action, Kuroop finally decided to take the monkey back to his tree so that he could fetch his heart for Kuroop’s wife. Despite being worried about his wife’s reaction to this unforeseen delay, the crocodile was immensely thankful for the monkey’s cooperation. But, when he told the monkey to make haste and come back down on his back, the monkey retaliated by saying that he was once bitten and twice shy. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to aid the crocodile, who had taken undue advantage of his friendship and tried to use him as a scapegoat. Throwing down rotten mangoes upon Kuroop’s head, the monkey told him that the excuse of his heart is kept in a hollow was just a trick that he used to manipulate Kuroop and save his own life. Cursing Kuroop’s wife, he told him that his heart was intact inside his body all throughout. And on this note, he bade him goodbye, while Kuroop kept gazing at him with mournful eyes.

Critical Analysis

On the surface a children’s poem, But at its heart, The Crocodile and the Monkey by Vikram Seth is a well-spun tale of friendship, kindness, betrayal, and subsequent estrangement. Rewriting the moralistic tale of not trusting those who are untrustworthy, from the Panchatantra, Seth presents this story in a poetic form with a nursery rhyme-like tune with humanized animals conversing and imparting values. Kuroop the crocodile is a character whose major objective is to impress his wife and cater to all her needs. For this purpose, he brings her carcass of his prey and also agrees to sacrifice his own friend, the monkey to satisfy her appetite. His wife, Felicity is shown to be greedy, manipulative, and selfish as she wants to devour the same monkey’s heart, who had been providing her with sweet mangoes through so many years. Her concern lies only with her own well being as she put her husband, Kuroop’s friendship with the monkey on the back burner, and demanded that he betray his friend and satiate her greed. The monkey’s presence of mind and shrewdness was identified when he outsmarted Kuroop after knowing about his evil intentions and managed to save his life. Written in a humorous, witty manner, poem. A ballad, it not only narrates a story but also gives a very honest picture of human interactions. Narrated in a racy, yet bantering manner, one notices the difference between the crocodile’s attitude of a predator towards his prey and his docile nature towards his wife. .

Conclusion

Written by Vikram Seth in a simple, yet impactful language, the crocodile and the monkey are a poem which is for children on the surface but has a deep-rooted meaning. Through animals, it has portrayed some of the most popular, yet intricate human relationships. From unlikely friendships to betrayals, a monkey and a crocodile express it in their own way. Even the wicked, greedy wife of the crocodile expresses traits of greed, lust for more, and manipulation. To the young readers, the easy melody of the poem because of its AABB rhyme scheme will leave an impression, and to the more mature reader, the themes of the complexities of human interactions will appeal to. Overall, the poem is a light read with an underlying deep meaning to it.