Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good

NightBy Dylan Thomas

Brynne Becker

PoemA Do not go gentle into that good night,

B Old age should burn and rave at close of day;A Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

A Though wise men at their end know dark is right,B Because their words had forked no lightning they

A Do not go gentle into that good night.

A Good men, the last wave by, crying how brightB Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

A Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

A Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,B And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

A Do not go gentle into that good night.

A Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sightB Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

A Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

A And you, my father, there on the sad height,B Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

A Do not go gentle into that good night.A Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Form, Rhyme Scheme, and Repetition

This is a villanelle. It is an example of a fixed verse form. A villanelle is nineteen lines and contains five tercets followed by a quatrain. There are two repeating lines. These lines first appear in the first and third line of the first tercet. These lines are alternately repeated until the last stanza. The last stanza includes both repeated lines.

The two repeating lines are:“Do not go gentle into that good night,” (1)“Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (3)

The repetition of these two lines highlights the fact that these two lines contain the main message of the poem.

The very simple rhyme scheme is ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA

Stanza 1

A Do not go gentle into that good night,B Old age should burn and rave at close of

day;A Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Syntax, Contrast, and Time

Syntax: There is very little punctuation in this stanza. The only punctuation occurs at the end of the lines. There is also one comma at the beginning of Line 3. The lack of punctuation in the middle of the lines reveals that the speaker is in a rush to convey this message because life does not last forever and time is running out.

Contrast: There is a very sharp contrast between the structured form of the poem and the chaotic diction such as “burn” (Line 2), “rage” (2), and “rave” (3). This conveys the message that although there is a certain structure to life that cannot be controlled(one cannot avoid growing older and must eventually die), a person can control his or her attitude. Another contrast occurs in Line 2. The “Old age” contrasts with the “burn” and the “rage”. The elderly are expected to put up the least resistance and be the weakest. The young are expected to be the ones who have the physical ability that is necessary to put up a fight. The speaker uses this contrast to reveal that even though a person close to death may be physically weak, he or she can still burn with a passion for life and fight to make the most of his or her life.

Time: The phrases “that good night”, “at the close of day”, and “the dying of the light” can be literally interpreted to mean the end of the day (1-3). These phrases are placed at the end of the lines which highlights the concept that something is coming to an end. They can also be interpreted to mean death or the end of a person’s life. The choice to use the word “close” reveals that this is a final thing that one can never go back or “reopen” his or her life (2). The poet also uses the word “dying” which is an obvious reminder that the speaker is talking about death (3). The “dying of the light” literally refers to the sun disappearing, but it also parallels the elderly dying.

Context and Analysis

Context: The speaker commands an unknown person to fight against death. The speaker declares that the elderly should display strong emotions at the end of their lives. Finally, the speaker says that the elderly should rage against the end of life.

Analysis: The speaker reveals that even though a person must die eventually, it does not mean that they should give up and wait for death. The elderly should not loose the passion that they have for life. They should show emotion and a desire to live even though they know that death is inevitable. They should keep living and fighting to live until death finally claims them.

Stanza 2

A Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

B Because their words had forked no lightning they

A Do not go gentle into that good night.

Diction, Imagery, Contrast, and Syntax

Diction: In the first line of the second stanza, the men who know that death is inevitable are described as “wise” (4). The poet is attempting to give this viewpoint credibility by describing the men who believe this as wise.

Imagery: In the second line of the second stanza, the words “forked” and “lightening” create the image of a jagged bolt of lightening cutting across the dark sky (5). Lightening is bright and can be seen for miles. Though these men are wise, they have not said anything enlightening enough that will be powerful enough to affect many people.

Contrast: The words of these wise men are contrasted against lightening. Placing these men and their words against something so powerful and large reveals that humans are insignificant and powerless against death.

Syntax: Line 5 states that humans are insignificant compared to the rest of the universe and are powerless to stop death. However, the line that follows it reiterates the message that humans should refuse to “go gentle into that good night” (6)

Context and Analysis

Context: The speaker states that wise men know that death is inevitable. The words of these men have not had an impact on the world that can be compared to lightening. These men do not go gently to their deaths.

Analysis: The speaker uses the wise men as an example to reveal that a person should not try to cheat death because death is a natural part of the cycle of life. Just as the words of the wise men failed to enlighten the world, the raging against death will not defeat death. However, this does not mean that a person should give up and stop living just because he or she will eventually die.

Stanza 3

A Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

B Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

A Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Syntax and Contrast

Syntax: The first line of stanza three contains more punctuation in the middle of the line than any other line up to this point. The punctuation makes this line choppy and gives the impression that the speaker is becoming emotional. This is fitting because this stanza includes words such as “crying” and “rage” (7-9).

Contrast: The contrast in this poem appears when the speaker describes the “Good men” who “rage, rage against the dying of the light” (7-9). Usually, the good people are the ones who behave themselves. The speaker uses this contrast to reveal that showing emotion and putting up a fight does not make one a bad person.

Context and Analysis

Context: The speaker describes the good men who are crying about the fact that all of their good deeds did not make much of a difference in the world. The speaker ends this stanza by claiming that the good men also rage against the dying of the light.

Analysis: Though the actions of the good men are frail compared with the power of death, the speaker praises them because they showed emotion by crying and performing these deeds instead of waiting for death.

Stanza 4

A Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

B And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

A Do not go gentle into that good night.

Metaphor

The speaker compares the sun to the cycle of life (10). The flight of the sun refers to the sun setting which symbolizes life ending. No human is capable of stopping the sun from setting. It is a part of nature that can not be stopped. Though some days the sun sets more quickly than other days, the sun will inevitably set. Death is also natural and inevitable.

Context and Analysis

Context: The speaker continues describing how different types of men act towards the end of their lives. In this stanza the speaker discusses the wild men. These men did not truly appreciate their lives or live their lives to the fullest. In their old age, they realize this and grieve because they have wasted so much time. However, these men do not give up and resign themselves to death.

Analysis: This stanza reminds the audience to make the most of their lives now instead of waiting until it is almost too late. The speaker praises these men for showing emotions by grieving rather than giving up and withdrawing from life. The speaker also implies that those who do not believe that they have made the most of their lives fight for their lives harder because they want to attempt to make up for the time they wasted.

Stanza 5

A Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

B Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

A Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Imagery, Syntax, and Contrast

Imagery: This stanza begins with words that conjure up images of death and old age such as “grave”, “death”, “blinding”, and “blind” (13-14). These images the reader of the subject of this poem.

Syntax: Line 13 contains two commas in the middle of the line. These commas give the poem a choppy feel. Coupled with the death imagery, it gives the impression of someone gasping for breath and struggling to live. The commas are placed before and after the word “death” which reminds the reader that death stops life. However, Line 14 is not interrupted by any punctuation. It is strong and solid which reveals that it is possible for one to be strong in the face of death and put up a solid fight for his or her life.

Contrast: The “blinding sight” means that although a person’s eyesight may be physically deteriorating, they are capable of “seeing” or realizing the truths about life and death that can not be physically seen, but learned from experience and reflection (13).

Context and Analysis

Context: The speaker continues describing how different types of people react in the face of death by describing the serious and sad people who are so close to death that they are physically deteriorating. Even though these people are so weak and close to death, they still burn and rage against death.

Analysis: Even though people who are close to death may be physically deteriorating and loosing some of their abilities, they can still enjoy life. They can still “burn” with a passion for life and be happy during the time they have left.

Stanza 6

A And you, my father, there on the sad height,

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

A Do not go gentle into that good night.A Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Point of View, Syntax, and Diction

Point of View: The speaker reveals that he is speaking to his dying father.

Syntax: Lines 16-17 are filled with punctuation. This gives the impression that the speaker is now extremely emotional and is begging the audience and his father to listen to the message of the poem. The final line ends with a period which suggests that even though one can rage against death, it will be in vain because like the poem, life must also end (19).

Diction: The speaker uses many strong contrasting verbs such as “curse”, “bless”, “pray”, and “rage” (17-19). These verbs represent the scattered emotions of one who is close to death as well as the scattered emotions of the friends and family members of a dying loved one. They also reveal that the speaker does not care which emotion his father and those who are close to death emote as long as they are still feeling something.

Context and Analysis

Context: The speaker addresses his dying father and implores him to curse him or bless him. The speaker tells his father that he prays that he will rage against death and refuse to gently die.

Analysis: Thomas deliberately chooses to wait until the last stanza to address his dying father. Although he was speaking to his father, he is also speaking to the readers. His goal was to involve the readers and inspire them to refuse to die without a fight. The mention of the speaker’s father in the final stanza reveals the anguish that relatives go through when their loved ones are facing death. This stanza reveals another motivation to rage against death. Family members are comforted when they witness their loved one displaying emotions and fighting to remain with them even if it is only temporary.

Final Context and AnalysisContext: This poem encourages the reader and the speaker’s father to remain passionate and fight for life when they are close to death. The speaker describes the wise, the good, the wild, and the grave men. The speaker reveals that all these types of men fight for their lives and lists the reasons why these men do so. Finally, the speaker implores his father to show emotion and repeats his message one final time.

Analysis: The speaker reveals that although death is a natural part of life and inevitable, it does not mean that one should stop truly living and feeling even though they are approaching death. On the contrary, they should show strong emotion and fight to make the most of their time while they still can because they can still make small contributions to the world, experience life, be happy, and bring comfort to their family members.

Definition of Poetry

"Poetry should be great & unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself but with its subject“ (Keats).

Explanation

The form of this poem is very simple. The rhyme scheme is very simple. The words themselves are very simple. Thomas does not present his message in a new or elaborate manner that amazes the readers. His message is powerful and simple enough that it does not need to be presented in an elaborate manner. The form, rhyme scheme, literary techniques, and words do not get in the way of or distract the reader from the message. The subject of accepting the inevitability of death while still raging against it, even though one knows that it is futile has the capacity to enter into a person’s soul and make a lasting impact.