Villanelle

After reading all three of the poems presented, I found that "Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas best meets the requirements of a villanelle. Although in a close second "The Waking" by Theodore Roethke and "One Art" Elizabeth Bishop both meet some of the requirements, they are missing a few repeating lines and "Do not go gentle into that good night" meets almost, if not all, of them. He adds a personal note at the end of the poem, common in villanelles, by saying "And you, my father, there on that 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." This could make us think maybe the poem is about his father, which adds a sentimental aspect to the poem and also helps prove the message. By reading the title of the poem, you would simply think it was about night time. But, as you read deeper into the poem, you find that it is about death. And that one should fight death as long as possible. (ie "do not go gentle into that good night (death)"). Like in the text given about villanelles, villanelles rarely tell a story, but they just repeat something over and over. This poem, "Do not go gentle into that good night" doesn't necessarily tell a story, but it repeats the message over and over in each stanza, the message being don't die easily basically. This message is also shown with the repetition of the phrases "do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." This is also a common thing in villanelles, making this poem meet more of the requirements than the other two poems.
Dylan Thomas