Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
My first comparison when I look at the two piece of writing is the rhyming structure, Hamlet Soliloquy hasn’t got a clear-cut rhyme and instead is unorganised which shows Hamlets disturbed state of mind, whereas Dylan Thomas has a clear ABA structure which is present in many of the stanzas except the final stanza which has two rhymes at the end, This allows the reader to know that Dylan Thomas knows what he is talking about and is not in a phase of disturb/confusion like Hamlet is in his soliloquy.
When compared with the rest of Hamlet and taking the Rhyming structure into account you can see why he would he confused or disturbed because his father not to long ago died and his mother married his uncle which is quite a strange situation to come into. Hamlet also seems to be feeling immense grief at this point because he has been approached by his father to kill his brother and he keeps on feeling guilt for his action, he wants to tell somebody that the king killed his father but he won’t because of his high status and the fact he wants to get rid of him without anybody knowing it was him. Dylan Tomas piece is a lot much organised which allows for the reader to believe that unlike Hamlet, The poet is in a more stable mindset after losing his dad but of course his outlook on death is to fight till the end and keep on to life and Hamlet’s Soliloquy is about giving up and him contemplating killing himself after the recent events he came into in his life-like his father’s death which is a parts of the writing that contrast each other immensely.
Dylan Thomas also uses Iambic Pentameter that shows the passing of time and how death comes near and near as time goes on. Hamlet doesn’t use Iambic pentameter which shows that he doesn’t understand how death is a cloud that is raining over people until the cloud can swipe down and take some bodies life when the time comes.
The context is also similar between the two pieces of writing as both are centred on a child losing his father and how Dylan Thomas who is much older is saying to live your life to the full whereas Hamlet is contemplating to go and die without fighting the inevitability of death,
Lastly the use of Personification is also comparable between Hamlet’s Soliloquy and Dylan Thomas’s Poem, One Example from the poem is “rage against the dying of the light.” This symbolises the light ending on some bodies light and how you should fight till the end and fight death. Both Poem use metaphor aswell which shows an understanding mindset as somebody who is mad wouldn’t be so clever to be quick-witted to create metaphor like the “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”
In Conclusion, like Ben Jonson’s poem, Dylan Thomas has very well thought out comparisons and is very good hen comparing to a soliloquy like Hamlet’s
React!