Against Dylan Thomas

[poliphilo]

Actually I disagree with Dylan Thomas. Old people who rage against the dying of the light are a pain. Especially if it's not so much raging as whining. When a person past eighty goes all "why me?" about their failing health my over-riding feeling is that they're letting the side down. Come on, you old bastard, this is part of the test. What is required of you now is dignity. You knew it was coming, you've had plenty of time to prepare for it, so pull yourself together and set us a good example. 

Comments

[oakmouse]

Remember his father went blind late in life, and as a result went from being a vital active man to being depressed and housebound. I've always thought the poem was as much about that as about his father's immanent death.

Also, having worked in nursing homes? The people who refuse to just sit quietly and dwindle away to nothing actually are the ones who stay more active, and live longer, with or without health problems. The ones who sit down and stare at the wall are the ones who die easily or who wind up spending years staring at the wall of a nursing home because they become too inert to manage self-care.

Finally, Thomas? Didn't whine. He raged, yowled, sobbed, bitched, leered, and mocked, yes. Whined? No.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm not talking about Thomas's death. I believe his last words were something like, "Twenty whiskies: is that a record?" There's a certain magnificence about the way he rushed towards his end.

I've worked in a care home and a hospice. I'm all for people staying active for as long as they can. Moping in a corner does not win my seal of approval. I think one should live life to the full and accept death- when it comes- without dragging one's feet or making an unseemly fuss. Our ancestors- some of them- knew there was an art to dying well.

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

Hehe... I love that you used the same phrase - "dying well" - as I did in my last comment.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's the last thing we do, we might as well make the most of it. :)

[oakmouse]

The classic quote is "I drank eighteen (or fifteen) straight whiskies; I believe that is the record." However, the people who were present when he lapsed into the coma claimed from the first that he didn't say it. One of them said that the last coherent words he spoke were the famous quote about how the men in his village had their arms around one another and were singing.

I didn't mean to say that you said he himself whined; I was trying to say that "whine" is about the last verb I would associate with him. However, I was in a hurry and didn't make myself clear.