Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night- Poetry Guide

The Poem

1.     Do not go gentle into that good night,

2.     Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

3.     Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

4.     Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

5.     Because their words had forked no lightning they

6.     Do not go gentle into that good night.

 

7.     Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

8.     Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

9.     Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

10.  Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

11.  And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

12.  Do not go gentle into that good night.

 

13.  Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

14.  Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

15.  Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

16.  And you, my father, there on the sad height,

17.  Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

18.  Do not go gentle into that good night.

19.  Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

Summary

Don't accept death calmly and peacefully. As their lives near and end, the elderly should fiercely battle against death. Defend yourself against the gloom of your impending death.

Even when smart individuals at the end of their life are aware that death is imminent, they nevertheless struggle to accept it gently since they haven't spoken something jarring or transformative, nothing that would send shockwaves throughout the globe.

When good individuals witness the closing moments of their life slip by like a final wave, they regret that they weren't able to do more since even seemingly insignificant actions may have caused a "green bay"—that is, changed the course of history. They fight against the approaching darkness of their demise.

Daring individuals who have fully engaged in life and lived in the present understand too late that the sun is leaving them behind and that even they must pass away, but they refuse to gently accept death. They have figuratively taken a happy journey across the sky on the sun.

Serious individuals who are close to passing away suddenly discover that even blind people may still be joyful and lighthearted like rockets. They fight against the approaching darkness of their demise.

And you, dad, seem to be on the pinnacle of a mountain since you are so near death. I ask you to burden and bless me with your strong feelings. Do not enter the pleasant night of death in peace. Defend yourself against the gloom of your impending death.

Context

Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, and “Death Shall Have No Domination”, as well as the “Play for Voices” under Milk Wood.

Dylan Thomas is thought to have written “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” while considering his father’s impending death. His father passed away in 1952, the year after Thomas published the poem.

Form

·       “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” is a Villanelle.

·       A villanelle is a poem of nineteen lines, that follows a strict form of three-line stanzas (tercets) and then a four-line stanza (quatrain). They also use a strict rhyme scheme of ABA for the tercet and ABAA for the quatrain.

·       6 stanzas in total. 5 tercets and 1 quatrain.

·       Written in iambic pentameter.

Symbols

·       Light

·       Lightning

·       Green bay

·       Meteors

Themes

Death and Defiance

The poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" acknowledges the inevitability of death but emphasizes the importance of resisting it with courage and determination. The speaker believes that death serves as a reminder of the preciousness of life and the need to make the most of it. The poem illustrates this message through various characters who, when faced with death, realize they have unfulfilled goals and fight for more time to achieve them. In summary, the poem encourages people to confront death bravely because doing so helps them recognize the true value of life.

            Where this theme appears in the poem:

·       Lines 1-19

·       For example, “wise men at their end know dark is right.”

·       “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

 

Family, Grief, and Old Age

In the final stanza of "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," the speaker shifts from speaking in general terms about facing death to addressing a specific person, their "father." This personalizes the poem, making it feel like a heartfelt message from a son to his dying father. While most of the poem offers universal advice on confronting death with dignity, this revelation in the final stanza makes it more intimate and family-oriented.

Throughout most of the poem, it remains unclear whom the speaker is addressing, as they discuss death in general terms and how different groups of people realize the preciousness of life. This universality gives the poem broad relevance.

However, the final stanza reveals that the speaker is addressing their "father," making the poem less universal and more focused on family, grief, and aging. The poem presents a dual face, challenging readers to consider whether it is universally applicable or deeply personal. The speaker's deliberate delay in revealing the personal connection allows readers to initially identify with the poem before placing it in the context of the speaker's life. Ultimately, the poem can be seen as both specific and universal simultaneously.

            Where this theme appears in the poem:

·       Lines 1-19

·       For example, “wise men” and “good men” and “my father”

Line-by-Line Analysis

Lines 1-3

Do not go…

…of the light.

 

The first three lines establish the poem’s themes. This is a poem about death, and passionately argues how people can face death with dignity.

In the poem's opening lines, the speaker expresses a strong argument against accepting death peacefully, symbolizing it with the phrase "go gentle into that good night." The speaker uses this metaphor to emphasize that people should choose life over death, rejecting the idea that death is a good or peaceful thing. The powerful consonance in the line, particularly the /n/ and /t/ sounds, underscores the speaker's passionate and resolute fighting spirit.

In the poem's first line, the speaker advises against passively accepting death, urging people not to be "gentle" about it. Instead, the speaker emphasizes the importance of confronting death with bravery and fierceness. The speaker encourages the elderly to resist death vehemently, using the metaphor of death being akin to "the close of day," which underscores the idea that death is akin to darkness.

The speaker underscores the importance of passion by using yet another metaphor, comparing old age to something that should "burn" with intensity when confronting death. In line 3, the speaker explicitly calls for this passion, telling people to "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." The repetition of the word "rage" emphasizes the intensity the speaker hopes individuals will muster in their resistance to death. The metaphor of "the dying of the light" also plays on the contrast between darkness and light, highlighting the central dilemma of the poem: despite one's fervent fight, death remains inevitable, and the assonance with the long /i/ sound in "dying" and "light" further underscores this connection.

 

Lines 4-6

Though wise men…

…that good night.

In the second stanza, the speaker introduces the concept of "wise men," who are individuals with profound insight into life. While one might expect such wise individuals to live their lives to the fullest, they too recognize the fundamental inevitability of death, symbolized as "darkness." Despite this realization that death cannot be avoided, these "wise men" refuse to passively accept it and instead resist it with determination and courage.

The "wise men" mentioned in the poem's second stanza harbor regrets regarding their life accomplishments and desire to achieve more. The speaker highlights that their "words" have not "forked no lightning." In this metaphor, "forking lightning" represents the creation of inspiration and transformative change. These wise men have not experienced a burst of inspiration that would significantly impact the world or inspire others. Consequently, they fight for more time in the hope that they can still bring about such a transformative and inspirational change before their time is up.

Lines 4 and 5 in the poem are enjambed, meaning the thought continues from one line to the next without a pause, while line 6 is end-stopped, with a clear pause at the end of the line. This use of enjambment and end-stop creates a sense of tension and energy in the poem, as if it's striving to capture the vitality and determination in the face of death. This pattern of enjambment and end-stop continues in the following three stanzas, maintaining the poem's iambic pentameter rhythm.

 

Lines 4-6

Good men, the…

…of the light.

Lines 7-8 of the poem describe how a specific group of people, referred to as "Good men," react when facing death. These individuals are in the late stages of life, symbolized by "the last wave" passing them, signifying the final significant moments. Their remaining time is dedicated to facing death, which they find unsatisfactory. They are in anguish and protest.

The "frail deeds" they have accomplished, their weak or insignificant actions, could have been more significant and valuable ("bright"). If their deeds had been brighter, they would have enjoyed a joyful and contented existence, symbolized by "danced in a green bay."

However, due to the unimpressive nature of their deeds, these "Good men" fiercely resist the approach of death, passionately fighting for more time and a fuller life. The refrain line, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," takes on a different role here, describing the actions of the "Good men" rather than offering general advice as it did in the poem's opening stanza.

The stanza's structure includes enjambment in the first two lines, while the last line is end-stopped. These lines form a single sentence, introducing the "Good men," portraying their regrets, and explaining their determined fight against death.

 

Lines 10-12

Wild men who…

…that good night.

In lines 10-12, the speaker introduces another group of people who regret the way they’ve spent their lives and want to fight back against death: “Wild men.” The “wild men” have lived lives full of passion; they “caught and sang the sun in flight.” This metaphor describes how the "Wild men" have pursued satisfaction and happiness with reckless abandon, going so far as to fly with the sun. But they “learn, too late” that they’ve made a mistake as “they grieved it on its way.” In other words, they regret the time they’ve spent chasing the sun, and now they can’t get that time back.

Note how, once again, the speaker uses caesuras: he or she isolates the phrase “too late”, a phrase which suggests that the “Wild men” are out of time, facing death. With the use of caesuras, the speaker pointedly suggests that he or she wants to ignore death, as if setting it aside. The thing the speaker really cares about is the way that the “Wild men” live once they realize that they aren’t happy with their lives. In other words, the focus is on the way they resist death: the fact that they “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

 

Lines 13-15

Wild men who…

…that good night.

The “Grave men” learn that “blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay.” This simile compares the intense expression in a blind person's eyes to "meteors." A meteor is a chunk of space rock burning up as it enters the Earth's atmosphere—it's extremely bright, even if it only lasts for a few moments. And “gay” here means full of joy and happiness. The meteors thus act as a symbol for a flash of intense feeling or inspiration, similar to the lightning in line 5.

The assonance between “blaze” and “gay,” and the alliteration and consonance between “blind” and “blaze,” reinforce the grave men’s revelation. These effects connect happiness and light—and light, in turn, has symbolized life throughout the poem. The speaker now connects the symbolism of light with blindness, a state usually associated with darkness. Thus (despite the prejudices of "Grave men") even those who cannot literally see light can still be filled with the symbolic light of life, as long as they're fully committed to living. Realizing this, these serious men "Rage, rage against the dying of the light”—fighting for more life so they can try to find happiness, too.

the speaker uses caesuras again to bracket out an important phrase, in this case, “near death.” As in the previous stanza, by setting that phrase off to the side, the speaker suggests that his or her true focus is on the way that the “grave men” fight back against death.

 

Lines 16-19

And you, my…

…of the light.

The speaker addresses his or her "father," who is about to die, saying that he is "on the sad height." (This is a metaphor about getting older and facing mortality at that stage in life.) The line break feels like a cliff, a split between life and death, underscoring how fragile his position is, as shown by the enjambment at the conclusion of line 16. The speaker wants his or her father to fight against death with the same fervor and vigor as the "Good men" or the "Grave men"—or anybody else.

Additionally, the end of these sentences are end-stopped, highlighting the speaker's conviction. The speaker is certain that this advice is urgently required and sound. However, a significant alteration has been made in this rendition of the refrains. The speaker is no longer addressing the reader or dispensing general advice to any interested parties. Instead, the speaker is pleading with his or her own parent to resist death directly. Thus, the poem comes to a very personal note.

 

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