Dylan Thomas vs. Thomas Gray

 Now I'm sure that you're asking, what do these 2 have in common (besides the name Thomas)? Well both have some pretty clear opinions on death (cheery, I know) which in turn gave them their most famous poems, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, henceforth shortened to Do Not Go Gentle, and Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, henceforth shortened to Elegy, respectively. Now Thomas expressed a somewhat unreasonable, if charming viewpoint in Do Not Go Gentle; that people ought to fight death (haven't we already heard about this from John Donne?), that no one has the right to just give up and let death take them. To be fair Mr. Thomas, they don't really have a choice.... Do Not Go Gentle was written at the time of Thomas' father's death, so the opinion is a valid one, valid enough for Bob Dylan to re-name himself after this guy. Gray expressed the polar opposite impression, in his Elegy, he believes that death isn't an entirely negative thing. He believes that many lives were robbed, that potential was not always reached, but that death is the greatest equalizer. It really doesn't matter who you are, you will die, the only mystery is when and where ( I now feel a sudden need to plan out my funeral...), Gray's view is slightly more grim, but realistic, and oddly it has an almost carpe diem ring to it; it encourages you to go out and live your life before it's taken from you.
Who would win......
Thomas Gray
Even if you just read through the poems, Gray's Elegy makes you think, think about your life and the lives of others cut short. Thomas' poem has a cool idea, but doesn't quite invoke the same emotional response.

Thomas Gray vs. Thomas Wyatt

It's time for the (2nd) battle of the Thomas's! Besides their names, the 2 didn't really have all that much in common, one was too busy pining over a girl to get anything done, and the other was obssessed with death, and spent his time pondering why some dead people were remembered more than others to get anything done. Now we have already established that Thomas Wyatt was a bit of a whiny prat who fancied himself in love with Anne Boleyn, who was conveniently married to the king so that Wyatt had the perfect excuse to never, ever talk to her. Well unless he wanted his head to be mounted above the good king's fireplace... And Thomas Gray, well he spent his days roaming graveyards, which eventually did pay off- Elegy Written in Country Churchyard is a very critically acclaimed piece even if the name is a bit wordy and has no mystery. But looking at is family, I can understand the guys obsession with death- he had 11 brothers and sisters who all died before the age of 5. If that were me, I would spend a lot of time in a graveyard too. But I don't have to, thanks to modern medicine ( and basic hygiene...)! So who should win, the morose man obsessed with the art of passing on, or the smitten sir, who did introduce the English to the sonnet, but died with little prestige to his name? Which should triumph, love or death, the sonnet or the lyric?

And the winner is......
Thomas Gray

While his Elegy may seem to be simply about how death conquers all, including the love that tears Thomas Wyatt apart, his message can be interpreted (only by English majors) as more than that, as a message to grapple life, and swallow your pride and go for your goal, and ignore the risks that might be there. The worst thing that could happen is that you could die, right? Which is a lesson that Mr. Thomas Wyatt could have used.

And the Quarterfinals commence!

 Now that another 8 contestants have been left behind with only their tears to comfort them, we move forward into the mayhem that is quarterfinals! This is where things start to get interesting folks, so stay tuned!
The matches are as follows:
Gray vs. Milton
Ulysses vs. Geats
Satan vs. Lamb
Petrarch vs. Epic