Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
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The Poem Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas is written as though the speaker is talking to his ill father. He is telling his father to be strong and fight or “rage” against death and to not give up on his life without putting up a fight. The speaker gives examples throughout the poem of different types of men who have fought against dying; wise men, good men, wild men, and grave men. The poem goes from the present tense in the first stanza, than it shifts to past tense and then back to present tense in the final stanza. The speakers tone is passionate and hopeful.
The title, Do not go gentle into that good night, is very strong and telling. When I read it, I think of not giving up and living life to the fullest. In the first stanza it reads, “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.” The speaker is saying that at the end of your life you should fight and not give up. Even as you get older your life should still be full of passion and “burn and rave”.
In stanza two it reads, “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”. Wise men may understand that it is their time to die, and because they do not yell in protest it does not mean that they will give up on life. They will still fight.
Stanza three reads, “Good men, the last wave by, crying bright; Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay; Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. Even good men may shed tears about what they could have done or could still do in life, but this does not mean that they will give up. They will continue to “Rage against the dying of the light”.
Stanza four reads, “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”. Wild men, who have done wild things and everything they wanted in their lives, may grieve, but they will also not go gentle into death.
Stanza five reads, “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”. Men who are dying and know it can still be happy and continue to live life to the fullest. They will also continue to fight until the end.
In stanza six it reads, “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 seems as though the speaker had a somewhat rocky relationship with his father when he says “cure, bless, me now”. As though he means either curse me or bless me, but do not give up on yourself and continue to fight until the very end.
I like the rhyming