Tone

"Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me." -"Death, be not proud" by John Donne

     The first three poems of this chapter share a common theme of a character's reaction to death. One of the most archetypical plots used in poetry, and literature in general, is the inevitability of death. Some plots tend to have their characters calmly submit to death and discuss the beauty in what comes before or after the event. Others, like "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" encourage resistance, insisting that death can be overcome. The common thread throughout all these works is that despite their argument for a call to action in response to death, each poem implicitly pays respect to its power. "That time of year" presents the mindset that death is a drawn out process, beginning at birth and acting on us until the ultimate end. "Do Not Go Gentle..." is quite the opposite in that the speaker encourages the absent characters to fight against death through their blessings and words. The fact of the matter is that despite the response, each writer chose to present a tone which is subtly respectful of death. Each writer knows it is inevitable, so they choose to shape man's perception of its enduring qualities.