All That is Gold Does Not Glitter-John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king. 



This is a good poem, it is short but has a lot of meaning. In the first line of the poem Tolkien is basically saying that substance is worth more than outward appearance. The next line means that someone might seem lost, but they're just searching for something more. The third is about endurance. The fourth line is about having your morals firmly grounded so that they aren't easily changed. The fifth is saying that something can come from nothing. I think that the sixth is saying something about anything can happen, even the impossible. The last two go together, they are about how things can be healed or renewed to a greater state than before, or something like that. I like this poem, overall I think that the meaning was about how things can always change for the better, or don't judge a book by it's cover. It could mean both. The poem also gives some pretty good values to live your life by, in my opinion.

Life by Sir Walter Raleigh

What is our life? A play of passion,
Our mirth the music of division,
Our mother's wombs the tiring-houses be,
Where we are dressed for this short comedy.
Heaven the judicious sharp spectator is,
That sits and marks still who doth act amiss.
Our graves that hide us from the setting sun
Are like drawn curtains when the play is done.
Thus march we, playing, to our latest rest,
Only we die in earnest, that's no jest.

Right away Raleigh asks a really tough question, "What is our life?" That is what really drew me to this poem, it made me think, like a lot. Then he calls it a play of passion, Raleigh is basically calling life a series of actions based on impulse. The line "our mirth the music of division" is confusing to me. It might mean that our happiness powers our lives or something, I really do not know. The next two lines after are just saying that our mother's wombs are like rooms where we prepare for life. He also calls life a "short comedy," meaning life is short and enjoyable, most of the time. The following two lines talk about God, basically. He talks about how God is always watching us and judging us on our actions, especially when we mess up. The rest of the poem is no longer about living but about death. He compares our graves to curtains on a stage that close when we die. The last lines are talking about no matter how we live we all die. I liked this poem, mostly because it is very deep, life and death are pretty serious topics and Raleigh handles them really well.

First poem and poetry response

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 

by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

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.

In this poem I think Dylan Thomas is trying to convince his father no to die easily. Throughout the poem he uses several metaphors to try and help him convince his father not to die quietly and keep on fighting. In the first stanza he compares life to a flame that should keep on burning through the night. I'm pretty sure that the night is a symbol for death. Thomas is saying that even though we get old we should not resign to death, we should keep on living, or at least try to. In the next stanza he is saying that even wise men that are experienced and pretty smart know that they are going to die they don't resign and die, they continue to fight and live. The third stanza is a little confusing to me, I think it is about how some mens' accomplishments aren't worth much and when they realize it they give up. In the fourth stanza is about people that lived fast and crazy lives and find out that they don't know the meaning of their lives, and that might make them want to die or something. He thinks that they should keep on living, until they figure out their life, I guess. I think the fifth stanza is talking about the same thing as the last one. In the last one Dylan Thomas is pleading to his father to not give up on life and keep fighting death. He doesn't want his father to just survive, but afterwards to really live. I think that this poem isn't about dying, but I think that it is about leading a fulfilling and strong life. I liked it, I really appreciated the way Thomas showed how he feels about life and death. I guess I'll try "not to go gentle into that good night" and I'll try to "rage, rage against the dying of the light." 

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