John Donne and Dylan Thomas lived centuries apart and death was a very important part of their lives due to wars and plagues. The common theme of both poems is their attitude towards death based on the belief of what happens to the human soul after physical life materializes. The authors' beliefs influence their use of personification to conceptualize death to make it a more formidable adversary. The poems "Death Be Not Proud" by John Donne and "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas share a similarity in the concept of death, but their views of death are as contrasting as the lives of the two authors.Dylan Thomas was born to middle-class parents in Wales on 27 October 1914. He is best remembered for his "bohemian personality" (Hall 448) and married an Irish woman in 1937, who shared his enthusiasm for alcohol and passion for living a nomadic lifestyle (Napierkowski 50). The violence and pressure of life in Europe during World War II affected Thomas and manifested itself in his poetry. “Thomas found work writing scripts for propaganda films during World War II” (person 1). It is unclear whether or not he agreed with the rhetoric or was just interested in monetary gain. Death invaded his life when his father became seriously ill in 1945 when he wrote "Do not go gentle into that good night". The poem reaffirms Thomas' belief that death is something that should be fought to the end rather than finding peace and accepting death. John Donne was born in 1572 in England to a family that valued religion. In 1615 he became an ordained minister, took his job seriously and did it very well (Pierson 2). When Donne wrote "Death Is Not Proud," death was a major concern for all people... in the center of the paper... a theme and still be as contrasting as good night and daylight. Works Cited Donne, John. “Death is not proud.” Poet.org. Academy of American Poets. 1997. Network. September 28, 2011. Hall, Sharon. "Dylan Thomas." Criticism of twentieth-century literature. Vol 8. Detroit: BookTower, 1982. 448,461. PrintNapierkowski, Marie Rose. “Do not go easy on that good night.” Poetry for students. Vol1. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. 49-60. PrintNapierkowski, Marie Rose. “Sacred Sonnet 10.” Poetry for students. Vol2. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. 102-114. PrintPerson, James. "John Donne." Literary Criticism 1400 to 1800. Vol 10. Detroit: GaleResearch Inc. 1-3. PrintThomas, Dylan. “Do not go easy on that good night.” Bigeye.com. Network. 5 October 2011.