A Comparative Study of the Portrayal of Mortality in Romantic and Modern Poetry: Keats’ “Ode to Nightingale” And Dylan Thomas' “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”

Abstract

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the theme of “mortality” in the poems “Ode to Nightingale” by Keats and “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas. In this research paper, we argue about the inevitability of death and mortality and its perspectives shaped by different literary periods, for example, modernism and romanticism, resulting from emotional and philosophical responses. We examine this through thematic, stylistic devices like imagery, metaphors and the broader context of their perspective eras. This study illuminates the evolution of poetics' engagement with one of humanity's most profound and enduring concerns, like mortality. Keats’ “Ode” portrays a speaker who, in a state of transcendent reverie, contemplates death as a release from worldly suffering, a perspective deeply rooted in Romantic idealism and the desire for union with the eternal. In stark contrast, Thomas's villanelle is a passionate and defiant cry against the encroaching darkness, reflecting a Modernist sensibility, in a world often perceived as fragmented and devoid of traditional consolations, championing the fierce assertion of life until the very end. By juxtaposing these two works, this paper reveals not only the individual genius of Keats and Thomas but also the profound shift in the Western consciousness regarding life, death, and the power of the human spirit.