Based on the lessons in this course, it is evident that the poems are delivered in various ways forms, depending on the situations or experiences of the poets. Three poems by Dryden, Randal, and Thomas ("To the Memory of Mr. Oldham," "Ballad of Birmingham," and "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night") reflect on themes of death, loss, and mourning. However, the tone and seriousness of emotions differ in everyone. I believe this contrast is linked to the different form that each poem has. Dryden's poem "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham" uses the form of elegy to create a poem based on the grief he feels after losing a creative young friend. Elegy is a form of poetry that is used to help poets put grief into words and thus help their readers embrace grief. On the other hand, Randall's poem "Ballad of Birmingham" uses the ballad form to describe a dramatic event involving the death of a child. The ballad is a form of poetry that usually outlines tragic, heroic, or humorous stories often with a dramatic tone. Finally, Thomas's poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" uses the villanelle form to describe how men in old age should not die in silence, but rather should die with dignity and excitement. Villanelle is a very technical and mathematical form of poetry that goes against the grain of the English language. These three poets used different forms of poetry to document serious (for some traumatic) situations based on or ending in death. Dryden, Randall, and Thomas use the elegy, ballad, and villanelle and combine them with the theme of death to add emotion to their poems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. The similarities between all three poems lie in the subject of death. In “To the Memory of Mr. Oldham,” Dryden recalls the brief memories he had with his fellow poet, John Oldham. After Oldham's death, Dryden realizes that even though they were not great friends and even though Oldham was young, he was still aware of his literary promise. In the poem Dryden states that Oldham's work would have benefited if he had lived longer. The tone of this poem is "lighter", especially when the theme of death is mentioned. The amount of pain and mourning that Dryden outlined in this poem was appropriate, as their friendship was new. Also in "Ballad of Birmingham" Randall discusses the theme of death and loss between a mother and her son. "Ballad of Birmingham" ends with a young girl being killed in church, which was supposed to be a place of safety from the march. This poem is an example of cruel irony in death. The little girl's death was ironic because she was ordered to attend church where she was supposed to be safe, but ends up dying there. The tone of this poem is similar to Dryden's because it talks about how people feel after someone is lost. However, due to the way the child dies, the subject matter of this poem is more tragic than Dryden's. Finally, Thomas discusses death in "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" based on how people die in old age. He states that when elderly people die while sleeping it robs them of their dignity. He believes that death should be an emotional and traumatic event. At the end of the poem we learn that Thomas is personally referring to his own dying father when he says that people should fight death, not embrace it. Since Thomas is talking about his father, the tone of this poem is more personal than the previous two. Although every poemshare the theme of death, they differ in the aspect of death. In each poem a person experiences someone who has died (the being dead in "To the Memory of Mr. Oldham"), someone who has just died (the death in "Ballad of Birmingham"), or someone who is dying (the trial before death in "Do Not Go Gentle in That Good Night). Furthermore, all three poems contrast in the form and methods used to heighten emotion regarding the theme of death. Dryden used elegy to emphasize mourning and grief in “To the Memory of Mr. Oldham.” Elegant poems are used to outline the emotion of grief for poets and readers An elegy can be seen as a form of eulogy because the experiences and memories of the deceased are usually much discussed, such as at a funeral. "To the Memory of Mr.Oldham" is an appropriate example of elegatic poetry because Dryden discusses how promising Oldham was and that it was disappointing to see him die at a young age. The rhyming couplets demonstrated in the poem refer to the kind of relationship Dryden had with Oldham. They have an appropriate range of tones suited to this type of elegy. The clever couplets of the final rhyme highlight that they were only minor friends. However, his tone contained enough desperation to let us know that he would have wanted more from the friendship. This poem is an elegy based on two different characteristics. First, it is an elegy because Dryden reflects on the loss of John Oldham. Secondly, it is an elegy because Dryden discusses how John Oldham was a loss to the literary world, specifically talking about his work. To conclude, this poem is an elegy because Dryden writes about someone (Mr. Oldham) and something (John Oldham's contribution to the literary world) that he lost after Oldham's death. In "Ballad of Birmingham", Randall used the ballad form for the subject of death. This form of poetry differs from Dryden's approach to the theme of death because ballads usually document more tragic events. This poem is an example of a traditional ballad because it addresses the theme of tragedy by bringing it to a dramatic conclusion. The theme is tragedy as the mother sends her son to church, thinking it was the safest option, only to hear an explosion coming from the same church. The conclusion is dramatic because the mother runs to church only to find the white shoe that belonged to her daughter. I believe Randall chose the ballad form for lack of intimidation. Ballads are not difficult to follow (since they are usually sung), and the use of form helps convey the message more easily. Therefore, it quickly becomes popular and transmitted from person to person. Randall used the ballad to write on the theme of death with the intention that it be widely distributed. He wanted people to know about the horrors that occurred in Birmingham, which led to the deaths of innocent children. The dark tone in this poem is subtle but necessary when using a ballad because the themes are always dramatic and tragic. To conclude the emotion, Randall's choice of form for his poem is more emotional than Dryden's because it involves tragic (the death of a child) and dramatic (the violence of the church explosion) events. Compared to the other two poems, the form of villanelles in Thomas' poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" are much more technical and difficult to add emotion. While the elegy and ballad require emotion as a feature, the villanelle requires rhyme and repetition. Villanelle is a fixed poetic form that uses five tercets (three-line stanzas) and one quatrain (four-line stanzas) allowing only the use of two different rhyming sounds throughout. “Do Not Go Gentle in That Good Night” is a perfect example of a villanelle because it stays within the constraints of the structure..