Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 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. 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. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

DYLAN THOMAS

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night The addressee: Dylan Thomas addressed this poem to his octogenarian father whose eyesight and general health were failing. The speaker addresses his father by using wise men, good men, wild men, and grave, or serious, somber men as examples to illustrate the same message: This means that no matter how they have lived their lives or what they feel at the end they should go out fighting. However, we are subtly reminded throughout that their rage will be ineffectual in the face of death. It is one of his most popular, most easily accessible poems, and implies that one shouldn't die without giving death a battle or fighting for one's life. The speaker: the poet.

STYLE OF THE POEM The poem has lyric style. The diction in this poem relies on repetition. After each example of men fighting against death, Thomas drives the poem along by reinforcing his point. Lines 1 and 3 appear alternately in stanzas 2-5 and repeat again in the last stanza. The aba format has a soothing rhythm that flows like the passage of time. Diction and figurative language are the key elements in this poem. They convey the emotion behind this piece, which is both a philosophical standpoint on death and an exhortation from son to father. While there are no great exclamations at any point, the quiet insistence with which he speaks cause the words to sink deeply into the soul.

THEME OF THE POEM The theme of the poem is that one should enjoy life as long as possible, and not passively accept death’s arrival. In describing old age, Thomas says “Do not go gentle into that good night.” He then explores the contrast between the natural symbols of light and dark. Since they traditionally stand, respectively, for “good” and “bad,” night is a symbol of death, signaling an ending. It sequesters one away from the light.

RHYME OF THE POEM a b Stanza 1 night day light Stanza 2 right they aba in the first five stanzas; abaa in the last stanza. Following are the rhyming words in Thomas’s poem:    a b Stanza 1 night day light Stanza 2 right they Stanza 3 bright bay Stanza 4 flight way Stanza 5 sight gay Stanza 6 height pray light (a)

METER OF THE POEM Except for the second one of Stanza 5, each line in the poem has ten syllables (five feet). The first syllable in a line is unstressed, the second is stressed, the third is unstressed, the fourth is stressed, and so on. Thus, the poem is in iambic pentameter. The following example demonstrates the metric scheme of the first two lines. The unstressed syllables are in blue; the stressed are in red capitals. Over each pair of syllables is a number representing the foot. Also, a black vertical line separates the feet.  ......1.............2..........3............4................5   Do NOT | go GEN | tle IN | to THAT  | good NIGHT........... ......1........./.......2....................3.................4..............5   Old AGE | should BURN | and RAVE | at CLOSE | of DAY..................... 

FIGURES OF SPEECH The poet uses a variety of figures of speech. Examples are the following:  Alliteration: go, good (Stanza 1) though, their (Stanza 2) deeds, danced (Stanza 3) sang, sun (Stanza 4); learn, late (Stanza 4) see, sight (Stanza 5); blinding, blind, blaze (Stanza 5). Note: Go and gentle do not alliterate; they have different consonant sounds.  Assonance: the effect created when two syllables in words that are close together have the same vowel sound, but different consonants or the same consonants but different vowels. age, rave, day (Stanza 1) blaze, gay, rage (Stanza 5)   

FIGURES OF SPEECH   Metaphor: “good night” compared to death (Stanza 1)  Metaphor: “Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight” (Stanza 4). Implied comparison of achievement to catching the fire of the sun and to singing triumphantly  Metaphor: “words had forked no lightning” (Stanza 2). (1) Words are compared to the cause of forked lightning. (2) Lightning is compared to attention, but the words had received no attention.  Metaphor/Personification: old age . . . burn . . . rave. (Old age represents and is compared to a person) (Stanza 1) Metaphor/Personification: frail deeds might have danced  (Stanza 3) Oxymoron: a phrase that combines two words that seem to be the opposite of each other. “good night” (Stanza 1).   Oxymoron: blinding sight (Stanza 5)  Oxymoron: fierce tears (Stanza 6)  Simile: blind eyes could blaze like meteors (Stanza 5) 

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM First stanza: 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. go gentle: “Go” becomes a copulative verb, permitting the use of the adjective gentle rather than the adverb gently.  close of day: end of life  good night: it has two meanings: (1) death, (2) goodbye  light: will to live; spirit, soul, mind; hope

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM First Stanza: The first line is a command, it’s paraphrased, “Don’t give up easily.” The second line offers the speaker’s belief that even when old and infirm, the man should stay energetic and complain if necessary as long as he does not give in to death easily. Then line three again is a command, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”: Fight, complain, rail against the oncoming of death.

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM First Stanza: Thomas may have actually accepted the Christian concept of death as that 'good night', death may be the 'good night' but he also links death to the 'close of day', to 'the dying of the light' - so death is both a night and a darkness as opposed to the day and light of living. Finally the use of 'burn and rave' suggests a fever immediately showing you his father is either in the grips of illness, but perhaps not 'raving' but quiet.

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM Second Stanza: 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. right: inevitable, unavoidable; natural  forked no lightning: failed to command attention; failed to express a startling or revolutionary concept. Forked lightning is a spectacular sight; thus, words that "fork lighting" would be likewise spectacular.     

FORKED LIGHTNING

FORKED LIGHTNING

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM Second Stanza: Second stanza is paraphrased; even though wise men know that they cannot keep death away forever and especially if they have not accomplished their goals in life, they don’t accept death easily; they “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM Third Stanza: 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. Similarly, in stanza 3, good men exclaim what might have been, their “frail deed” might have shone like the sun reflecting off the waters of a “green bay,” and they, therefore, “Rage, rage” against the oncoming of death. The message expressed in both stanzas is similar: Men facing death realize they could have done more and thus fight against the “dying of the light”.   crying: weeping or shouting  

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM Fourth Stanza: 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. Likewise, in stanza 4, wild men whose antics seemed to shine as brightly as the sun and who thought they were so optimistic, but later realized they spent much of their life in grief, still they “Do not go gentle…” Wild . . . flight: These men had their moment in the sun, so to speak. But they lived most of their lives in shadows, grieving over daily travails.   they grieved it: dismissed it; sent it. They did not seize the moment and capture what it offered them. 

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM Fifth Stanza: 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. And in stanza 5, grave men whose eyes are fading fast but they can still flash with life’s happiness, as they “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” The message is the same as in Stanzas 2 and 3.   Grave men: Serious men. blinding sight: an oxymoron to convey the idea that dying men with failing eyes see with illuminating insight.  blaze . . . gay: A blind man can see in other ways and even "blaze" with ideas and zest for life. 

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM Sixth Stanza: And you, my father, there on the sad height,   Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.   Do not go gentle into that good night.   Rage, rage against the dying of the light.  It’s paraphrased; “And so my father you are nearing death—yell at me, scream at me, cry out; to see you do that would be a blessing for me and I beg you to show me that militant man you once were: “Do not go gentle into that good night.” curse, bless: In effect, "if you cursed me, you would be blessing me." Cursing his son would show that he still has fire, spirit, the will to fight. 

PARAPHRASING OF THE POEM In summary, it seems that too often much is made of Thomas anger/rage at death. He actually acknowledges its inevitability and purpose in this poem - and yet he lists why all men, whether wise, good, carefree or serious should struggle against death for the sake of it. This rings true then with slightly mythic background behind this poem which has Thomas composing it as he sees his father on his deathbed apparently giving up this same final struggle.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Throughout the poem Thomas describes four types of men, who have lived four different lives, but in the end all want more of life. This is a universal wish among mankind. “Crying how bright their frail deeds might have danced” (line 7-8) implies that one may fight to live because he has not lived up to his potential. “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors” (line 14) shows that many men, facing death, suddenly realize that they could have had a much greater impact on the world. Even wise men, who realize that death is inevitable, are still not ready to sink into the uncertain darkness. The similes and metaphors paint life in brilliant light.