Stylistic Analysis of a Poem Stylistics 551 Lecture 28

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Dylan Thomas Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Dylan Thomas Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Analysis The poem, known by its first line "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," is also the most famous example of the poetic form known as the villanelle. The poem's true importance lies not in its fame, but in the raw power of the emotions underlying it. Dylan Thomas uses the poem to address his dying father, lamenting his father's loss of health and strength, and encouraging him to cling to life. The urgency of the speaker's tone has kept the poem among the world's most-read works in English for more than half a century.

Dylan Thomas was a passionate, lyrical poet (lyrical = a kind of poem or work that expresses personal feelings). He adopted a forceful style that shows an intense display of feeling in his poetry.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. These lines are potentially quite confusing, so let's start by untangling the syntax of Thomas's sentence here: even though smart people know death is inevitable (line 4), they don't just accept it and let themselves fade away (line 6), because they may not have achieved everything they were capable of yet (line 5).