UGRC 160 – Introduction to

Literature
SESSION 8
Poetry- Part 2 – The Sense of Poetry: Word choice,
Word Order, Figure of Speech
Session Objectives
At the end of the session, the student will
• Be able to interpret a poem with extrinsic as well as intrinsic
information.
• Be able to appreciate the ‘literariness’ of the poem as a way of
decoding meaning.
• Understand how metaphor, simile and the other devices that convey
Imagery works within a poem.
This session is essentially a practice session in interpreting or appreciating

Poetry. It is important that students familiarize themselves with some basic

literary or figurative devices (Personification, Metaphor, Simile, Assonance,

Alliteration, Allusion, Rhyme, Onomatopoeia etc.) before proceeding to analyze

Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”

“Do Not Go Gentle into that Good
Night”- Dylan Thomas
• Study the poem closely.

• Read each Stanza of the poem critically, paying attention to the denotative and

connotative meaning of important words in the Stanza

• Identify the Literary/Figurative devices employed in the poem.

• Do a little research on Dylan Thomas and see if you can associate some

information from his life to the idea he expresses in the poem.

Ideas expressed in the Poem

• WAGING WAR AGAINST DEATH

• MORTALITY

• TRANSCIENCE

• OLD AGE