Whether we acknowledge it or not, most of us fear death. Even though dying is a natural part of existence, American culture is unique in the extent to which death is viewed as a taboo topic. Rather than having open discussions, we tend to view death as a feared enemy that can and should be defeated by modern medicine and machines. From someone experiencing death to witnessing a loved one pass away, both are situations that nobody would want to go through. When comparing Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that good night” and Donne’s “Death be not proud, though some have called thee”, they both see death different ways. Thomas portrays death as strong and difficult to fight against while Donne persuades the reader that Death is weak and wrongfully proud. 

The “speaker” of “Do not go gentle into that good night” is a really upset son, which is trying to tell his father to fight death and never give up. The poem is a conversation or a monologue in which only the speaker which we can suppose is Thomas communicate to us about his thoughts and feelings about death. The speaker, repeats several times the line “Do not go gentle into that good night” to emphasize his idea to fight death as much as possible and live. Through the poem, phrases are repeated as well as words. The last stanza is the one who repeats in an alternate way and at the end it´s put together both of this ideas of Do not go gentle into that good night and rage, rage against the dying light.

In Donne’s “Death be not proud”, The speaker of the poem believes himself to be a good Christian, so he's confident he’ll eventually make it to Heaven. The speaker sounds confident, even cocky, when he tells Death that he isn’t so "mighty and dreadful." But, despite the speaker’s confidence, it is shown that he may still have a slight fear of death. If he shows any weakness, he knows that Death will take control over him. By the time the poem takes a "turn" in line 9, the speaker really lays into Death, calling him a slave. We imagine he’s facing death at this point. Fortunately, he ends the poem with “And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die”. This changes the role that was typically portrayed with death. 

A common theme that is portrayed in both poems is personal feelings on death. Each person takes death differently. Some take it as an entrance to Heaven or Hell but some are reluctant on death and do not want it to come.  In Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that good night” the speaker encouraged the readers to rebel against their fate of death. “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”, this is ironic because in the poem the speaker is raging that he might lose his dad to death. In Donne’s “Death be not proud, though some have called thee”, the speaker takes an assertive stand against mortality. The speaker makes the paradoxical statement that mortality is itself mortal. In other words, death doesn’t exist in the long run. But, the speaker wouldn’t make this argument if he doesn’t fear that maybe death is the end. Death, be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so”. Death is personified, or treated like a person, throughout the entire poem. The phrase "some who called thee" is also classic understatement. Pretty much everyone fears death, but "some" sounds like only a handful of people. And, "mighty and dreadful" are adjectives you might apply to a medieval king. The speaker not only attacks death’s power in the afterlife, but on earth as well. 

In Donne’s “Death be not proud, though some have called thee”, the speaker of the poem is death. With the speaker being death, the poem accepts that eventually everyone will die. When researching how different people cope with death I found that most people have a hard time coping with a loved one dying. You will mourn and grieve. Mourning is the natural process you go through to accept a major loss. Mourning may include religious traditions honoring the dead or gathering with friends and family to share your loss. Mourning is personal and may last months or years. Grieving is the outward expression of your loss. Your grief is likely to be expressed physically, emotionally, and psychologically. For instance, crying is a physical expression, while depression is a psychological expression. It is very important to allow yourself to express these feelings. Often, death is a subject that is avoided, ignored or denied. At first it may seem helpful to separate yourself from the pain, but you cannot avoid grieving forever. Someday those feelings will need to be resolved or they may cause physical or emotional illness. Many people report physical symptoms that accompany grief. Stomach pain, loss of appetite, intestinal upsets, sleep disturbances and loss of energy are all common symptoms of acute grief. Of all life's stresses, mourning can seriously test your natural defense systems. Existing illnesses may worsen or new conditions may develop. Profound emotional reactions may occur. These reactions include anxiety attacks, chronic fatigue, depression and thoughts of suicide. An obsession with the deceased is also a common reaction to death. 

In Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that good night”, the speaker feels anger that his father is dying. Anger is a necessary stage of the healing process. David Kessler, a grief profession says that the more anger is truly felt, the more it will begin to dissipate and the more you will heal. There are many other emotions under the anger and you will get to them in time, but anger is the emotion we are most used to managing. The truth is that anger has no limits. It can extend not only to your friends, the doctors, your family, yourself and your loved one who died, but also to God if the person has faith. Anger is pain and it is natural to feel deserted and abandoned, but we live in a society that fears anger. Anger is strength and it can be an anchor, giving temporary structure to the nothingness of loss. At first grief feels like being lost at sea: no connection to anything. Then you get angry at someone, maybe a person who didn’t attend the funeral, maybe a person who isn’t around, maybe a person who is different now that your loved one has died. 

Death cast fear into people because it is unknown as to what happens in the afterworld. Some believe that there is heaven and hell, but some have different ideas. Death is like a poor beggar on the street. This would make death a non-threatening person. He is a low class citizen that is just waiting for an opportunity to feast when his master allows. Donne produces this low-life death figure by associating him with “poison, war, and sickness”. These are all things that less fortunate people deal with on a daily basis. These are dreadful things that are not good.  On the contrary, Thomas explains that his father should not give up easily on death but he knows that death is the inevitable end to every life. Thomas says “that good night”, perhaps inherently ‘good’ because it is the order of life/nature, perhaps more immediately ‘good’ as the agent for stopping pain whether physical, mental or spiritual. He concludes that he wants his father to live happier after having a second chance of living in order to fix the wrong things he did. When comparing Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that good night” and Donne’s “Death be not proud, though some have called thee”, they both see death different ways. Thomas portrays death as strong and difficult to fight against while Donne persuades the reader that Death is weak and wrongfully proud. 
