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Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night", written in French verse, is about the general subject of death. The poem speaks of different views of death, from different points of view. All the views have one common struggle; to hold on to life. The title of the poem comes off as an instruction. The author is telling the reader to fight death. By repeating this line, the speaker's thoughts are strengthened and the reader is reminded not to have a passive attitude towards death. The repetition helps reinforce the tone, emotionally and influentially. The speaker relates his influence even in the title when he uses "Do not go gentle into that good night"(1). He does not say, perhaps you should not or you might not want to. "Rage rage against the dying of the light" (3), this is how Thomas wants the reader to react towards death.

Right away this poem does not indicate a gentle feeling, nor does it speak quietly. Rage is not a silent action so this early indication points out that this poem is to be read loudly. This poem is filled with activity. "Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight", (10) and "Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright / Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay" (7 and 8), and the always repeating "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (3) illustrate the many activities going on. There is also a sense of struggle when asked to "not go gently into that good night" (6).

Throughout the poem, Thomas uses two metaphors; "Rage rage against the dying of the light" (3), in this case light represents life and "Though wise men at their end know dark is right" (4), in this case darkness indicates death. Other words in the poem come back to these simple metaphors. In the title, the use of the word "night" (1) relates to darkness and death. Also, in the fifth stanza, "blaze" (14) reminds the reader of light and by association, life. In the title, he also refers to "night" as good. This could be a reference to life after death being good.

Line sixteen suggests the speaker is directing these instructions to his father as well as to the reader. "And you my father, there on the sad height" (16). The speaker does not want his father to just lie down and die. He wants him to fight death like the other men he mentions in the second and third stanzas. "Though wise men at their end know death is right / Because their words had forked no lightning" (4 and 5). These men will simply fight death because their words have not yet made an impact on anyone's life. If they die, their job as a wise man will not be carried out. "Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight" (10), these men have caught life and have a feeling of success for doing so. But because they have spent all their time chasing life and its meanings, they have not had time to live life. So, they will fight death for a chance to live their lives.

Thomas' well written complex poem evokes the emotions he experiences in his father. When parents die, people lose their last hold on their childhood. People are forced to mature and look after themselves. Thomas feels very emotional about this. "Rage" (3), "fierce" (17), and "curse" (17) are all very powerful words that convey his feelings. By prolonging life, mistakes can be corrected, more people can be influenced, or life can be lived rather than chased.

The majority of the words are only one syllable; the stanzas are very short and quickly read. The pentameter rhythm in the poem and alliteration of the repetitive harsh "g" words in the title, lend themselves to the predictability of the lines meaning that death is inevitable. The speed at which the poem is read depicts how rapidly death is approaching. Even the word choice fits in with the topic of death. Line thirteen is a very good example of this. "Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight" (13), "grave" in this sentence, not only relates to the characters of the men, but also to the hole dug to bury a corpse in.

The last stanza of the poem sums up the author's true purpose for writing it. Not only does the author wish for all people to "not go gentle into that good night" (1), he especially wishes for his father to "rage against the dying of the light" (3). "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" (1) conveys just how Thomas dealt with the rage and aggression he felt when his father was dying.

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