Pattern Poem #3

8.

I read on of the questions concerning "Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead" which asked if I thought the poem had a tone of optimistic or pessimistic. Instead, I think that this poem has a tone of confusion, fear, and the lack of acceptance. This tone relates to the son because he seems afraid of death. By saying "I can't just say good-bye as cheerfully", the son expresses his sadness and unknowingness towards death. He does not yet accept death. He is not bashing on death. Rather, he is saying how he feels about his father accepting death and compares this to himself. He recognizes the fact that he is not ready at all. He still does not see it as a great thing. The juxtaposition of his father being happy to die and him being happy to live show that the tone of this poem displays the son's lack of acceptance towards death. The father has acceptance which strengthens the son's true feelings toward death. He is not negative towards death itself, but is negative towards how his father feels. He is making death somewhat depressing, but his father makes it seem like a good thing by saying "cheerefully" and "sureness of his faith".