Dylan Thomas 'Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night'

Molly Walsh

11.9.2015

Ms. Belgira

Period 3

Never Take It for Granted

Within each individual poem, the author chooses his words carefully with intention behind every word. While some are straightforward and concise, others such as “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” are not so clear. Rather, the layers behind words open a world of interpretation. The poem suggests that every human should leave this world the way they came in – kicking and screaming, holding on to every last moment of life for all it’s worth; For it is impossible to know when that last moment will be. In the influential poem, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night", Dylan Thomas uses repetition, juxtaposition, symbolism and diction with hints of alliteration, to lament the

necessity and inevitability of death, encouraging all life to rebel against their fate.
"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight" argues through repetition that wild, reckless, and passionate desire to live, even in old age, is wiser than calm acceptance of fate. In his poem, his use of stanzas to demonstrate his story allows the reader to see the progression of his thoughts of death. Thomas writes, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” (line 15) Each time it's repeated, it has a slightly different position in one of Thomas's complex sentences, so the meaning of the line changes as the poem progresses. He writes to show that when a life’s young and full it is ignorant to death. Yet, as it ages it slowly becomes blind with the reality that death in unbeatable. Every life, even the eldest are precious and worthy, “Old age should burn and rave at the close of day”. The sunrise represents the dawn of new life, how every day is a day to live for. The “old burn and rave at the close of day” is the sunset depicting the ending of the day and the ending of another life. Continuously the author pleads, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (line 3, 9). The dying of the light is repeated consistently in the poem and each time that Dylan uses this line it can be used in a different perspective. However, it remains that Dylan is frustrated with the shortness of life, for in the grand scheme of things it is only a day relative to the rest of history. The placement of the second repetition is interesting because instead of being placed at the beginning if the stanza, like the others, it is placed at the end. This subtle move indicates that the author’s intention is for the line to reach for the reader. The next line opens with “good men” contrasting the two as in the reader and good men. Thomas wants the reader to interpret that he should follow the good men and not slip into death easily; rather with a fight.
Consequently, the author exhibits with juxtaposition, his strong disturbance of the transience of life. His exhortion of light vs. dark and happy vs. sad is prevalent throughout the text. It worries him that there are things people could have done in the world if only they had been here longer. It bothers him that the sun travels so quickly across the sky and that people lives are cut so short. But even though transience is so painful, it opens the opportunity for beauty to flourish. The greatest of men fall into the hands of death, “Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright--Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,” (lines 7-8). Most of the symbols in this poem are transience, passing easily way, including lives. Life rises up like a wave and then, the speaker implies, it crashes upon the shore and is gone. Not only do their deeds pass away, but also any impact that their life would have had on the world. No two lives are the same, just as each wave is different. Through this, Dylan Thomas’s use of juxtaposition demonstrate that no matter what kind of man it is, death will come knocking at their door in some way, shape, or form. Thomas iterates, “Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,” (lines 10-11). Even wild men who are skilled and prepared for anything nature has to throw at them, death is something that no one can prepare for death or fight off. Death is inevitable, it’s just a matter of time. Thomas, who is presumable the son, angry at his father, writes, “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.” (line 18) The juxtaposition between the two words “curse, bless,” and “fierce tears” separated by commas expresses the emotion that the son feels, confusion and frustration.
In a modern context, wisdom is symbolized as peaceful and composed. Yet, Dylan Thomas uses the symbolism such as, wise means a determination to struggle. Even if the struggle is ugly, even if it means ranting, raving, crying, screaming, and pounding fists on the floor, the author believes that is more dignified than simply lying down and giving in to fate. He argues, “Wise men at their end know dark is right” (line 4). Although Thomas speaks highly of fighting for life, and living for that last breath, he does understand that death is natural. Death is simply a part of life. In a sense, Thomas sees death as possibly being an extension of life. However, this one sentence contrast the rest of the poem. Nonetheless, the word “right” is utilized to express that death, in the long run, will eventually win, and the wise men know when that time is. Although all their efforts, “Their words had forked no lightning” (line 5). The lightning is meant to symbolize that no matter how wise a man is, it might still be difficult to make a mark on the world. Even if they have spoken great words, all of their hard work and dedication could disappear just as fast as a life slips into a shroud of darkness. Once again Thomas’s usage of , “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay” (line 14) is crucial. Although they men are being described as blind, it is an emphasis on the “blazing like meteors” once again referencing to Dylan's frustration on the transience of life. Lives are burned just as quickly as a meteor being burned in the atmosphere. Simultaneously, he is also saying to live a life that will go in history, don’t hold back. Leave this world, the same way a meteor crashes into earth, by creating a crater of influence. To elongate this stanza, the author uses diction, but also alliteration with the “blind, blaze, and be” all beginning with the letter b. This alliteration causes the reader to read the sentence faster, therefore intensifying and drawing on the reader's attention.
As the reader nears the end of the poem, the father is also nearing his own death.

Since the last stanza is spoken by a son to his dying father, the structure suggests the importance and strength of familial bonds as a result of the diction Thomas uses. Where it is perceived at a first glance that the father is the one giving the advice to fight and be strong, it is instead the son. The father is the one that is feeble and in need of faith. Addressing his father, “And you, my father, there on the sad height,” (line 16). The purpose of , “sad height” is to iterate that the peak of the father’s life has been reached. The final stanza of the poem shows who the poem is meant for. The author is addressing the father, the one who is going through the fight against death. But he is at the point where his fight has reached a “sad height”. The author, in relation to the rest of the text, expects the father to fight hard and follow the advice of his son. Rather, it seems the son is disappointed with the way his father is dealing with death. The father no longer has any desire to fight, his only defense is the soft subtle cry. Frustrated with sorrow Thomas writes, “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.” (lines 17). Overall, the diction that Thomas uses is to demonstrate pastoral harmony. The flow of the poem where the first stanza is instruction to fight for life, the next three are him persuading the reader to fight, and the last one is Thomas pleading his father to fight for his own life. However, the only thing that the father can do is cry. In reality, the fathers cry is a sob. But his son describes his father's’ tears as “fierce”. Exhibiting that his only defense is a saddening cry in the fear of death. Lastly, addressing the audience as well as his father, he begs, “Do not go gentle into that good night, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” ( line 18-19). The last sentence of the entire poem comes together with an urge to fight for

life, to never give up on all of the opportunities that could have been taken advantage of. Life is a gift, something so precious that can be taken away at any instant. Don’t ever let the fire burn out, for that fire has the power to spark a true change in the world.
Life is the most beautiful, precious, and remarkable concept in existence. To be put on this earth, given countless opportunities to leave a mark on the world, or even save someone's life. Dylan Thomas pleads with the world to fight for life, to fight for every last breath, to be furious that they have to die through the use of repetition, juxtaposition, symbolism, and diction. Yet, despite all the pleading and instruction, nothing will prepare a soul for its journey into death. Thomas’s father had fought for his life, but still came up short and heaven gained another angel. “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” is a poem that will forever have relevance as long as the human race shall survive. Death is undeniable, it is written in stone, and despite all attempts to elongate life, mortality will continue to thrive.