Corbin Cutshaw
April 28th, 2009
ENL 3

Words with Meaning

Ever since mankind came across the ability to communicate with one another there has been some form of recording or documentation of that ability, whether it was paintings on the insides of caves, drawings on the dried hides of animals, or books and novels. But since the beginning of these documentations literature and writing have always had a cloud of controversy hanging over it. Granted, that the controversy surrounding these authors varied from time to time were for different reasons, nether the less it still made writers of such professions very unpopular. But one way writers were able to have freedom of speech yet not be criticized was to write using symbolism and allegories. By using this technique it allowed writers to have freedom of speech without the fear of heavy criticism, and also allowed for a “deeper level” of thinking which has become very popular in today’s literature. In other words, authors could freely write pieces that said one thing, but that could mean something entirely different. In the poems by Dylan Thomas and Carl Sandburg both authors use negative thematic categories, such as anger and hate, to express emotions that can be entirely different from what the meaning might be perceived as.

The poem “Hate” by Carl Sandburg is about is a friend killing another friend with the last words being “I’d give you the shirt off my back”. In the beginning the reader is not aware that the two gentlemen are friends, and it continues to say that the killer cried and looked back in sorrow on the killing, stating “It was a shot in one second of hate out of ten years of love”. The twist that Sandburg throws in though comes in at the very last words of the poem ending in, “I’d give you the shirt off my back …And I’ll kill you if my head goes wrong”. What makes this writing so unique is that it is a message within a message. Yes this poem could have the literal point of view such as a man accidently killing his friend, but what Sandburg is really trying to say here is the importance of our actions. That one wrong on even unintentional action can have a great impact in future years. For example in the poem if that man would have restrained himself from taking his friends life at the one late sorrowful second, they could have continued to be friends and possibly changed each other’s lives. Authors of such kind of literature are very specific of word choice in the writings so everything has a certain purpose or meaning. If the reader is left confused or in the mist of crossroads of determining what exactly this poem or reading may be saying to them specifically, that was probably the goal. Sandburg was totally aware of exactly everything thing in his poem and how the reader would perceive it. “Hate” by Carl Sandburg is a perfect example of authors writing to be taken less literal and having “double” meanings behind they’re work.

The interesting part of “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas is that it is obvious that rage does not literally mean that when he says, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. That main discussion of this writing does not involve that. What the real question is what does it mean to “rage”? Does it mean to never give up, to stay optimistic and keep fighting? Does it mean to protect the survival of the innocent and good? Or does it have a totally different meaning for us then it did for Thomas’ time and culture? The real answer is unfortunately we will never know for sure. One thing that we do know that is for sure is that Thomas was very precise with his writings, as most authors are of their own work. He knew that what he was writing could be viewed in multiple of number of ways and he did it on purpose, the only problem is that we don’t what way.

Everyone at one point or another has heard the phrase “you might not get a second chance”. It is a common phrase used to emphasize the importance of the decision about to be made. The reason why this little quote is able to project such a large message is because it is written in a way in which the phrase can have a double meaning. In other words, this quote is saying be careful because once it is done its done, but really, really be careful of all the possible effects this decision might make. Almost in one sense that one right or wrong decision can radically change the future. It was the same type of double meaning that Sandburg used in his writings to get certain type of feelings or ideas across to the reader. For example when Sandburg writes,
“I’d give you the shirt off my back” … And I’ll kill you if my head goes wrong”, he is trying to say that for one second if one is not thinking clearly, or for some reason is not thinking and their head is wrong, consequences are very likely. Something can happen as drastic as to kill someone, and ruin ten years of love in one split moment of hate. This is what Sandburg is trying to get across to the reader, and he is doing it in a way in which the reader might not perceive of right away. Dylan Thomas writes in the same type of fashion in his poem “Do not go gentle into that good night”. When he writes “rage, rage against the dying of the light” which appears frequently throughout the writing, it is pretty sure that he does not mean rage as in the way of fury of violence and anger, it is something deeper than that. As you can see in each tercet of the poem it is describing a different type a man whether he is wise, wild, good, etc. and says something about their character based on the attributes. But why go through all this effort? Why describe these men’s character just to say one thing about “raging against the dying of the light” even if the actual term “rage” is unknown or subjective in this poem? This is just too many questions that are left unanswered in this writing to be able to say that there is not a second meaning behind this poem. In result it is fair to say that Thomas clearly meant for there to be a second meaning behind this writing, even if it may vary with every reader.

Throughout time old wives tales and stories have been made and created to mainly entertain us, but to also teach us a small lesson or two. The same thing can be said for literature and author too. Authors can not only write about great expeditions across far and bizarre lands like The Odyssey, but they imply great meaning of what it takes to be leaders and to have courage to never quit. Such poets like Dylan Thomas and Carl Sandburg did this same exact thing in their writings by using thematic categories to express emotions and ideas that can be entirely different from what the meaning might be perceived as.