Thanks Sue and Arthur,
Those are just the kind of impressions I want to have under my belt. One of
the
things that had put me off originally was the possibility that "old" people
(? over a hundred years) were expected to go down boxing with twenty year
olds and performing difficult stunts on fast motor cycles. Of course if
they/we want to that's fine -(a friend of mine in her eighties has stated
that she wants to go down in the front line and I admire her for it). It
was just the thought that I might be on my death bed later on this century,
all full of mellow fruitfulness and my children might be lining me up for
courses on how to escape from flooded submarines in Arctic waters or how to
surf down Everest on a bread board, under pressure to be the first to do it
blind-folded and heavily drugged with their hands tied behind their back.
However that was how I reacted to the poem, in a slightly bemused way
beforehand, not how I might react to it now, with the benefit of your
comments and not intended as a riposte to them.
BW
Colin
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sue Scalf" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2003 8:51 PM
Subject: Re: New Sub: Castle: The villanelle
> The wonder of Dylan Thomas' villanelle is the great pull of opposites. He
> tell his father "Curse/ bless me now." He wants his father out of his
> misery, but he does not want the old man to be less than he can be. He
does
> not want him to go meekly and pitifully into death, but to rage against
it.
> Thomas' father was blind by the way, and this adds to the meaning of the
poem.
> The form is broken by the spondees coming down hard as they do: Rage,
rage,
> against the dying of the light. The poem deals with a powerful subject
and a
> sad one, but it does not lapse into the slightest bit of sentimentality.
> Also using the form, Thomas gives examples of how others have died. Most
> people agree that the "wild men" he refers to are poets. The poem is
richer
> than its form, and this is one reason it is held in such high esteem. Do
go
> back and read it again. Thanks, Sue
>
>
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