A Reflection of Life, Seen Through Deaths Eyes
“Dylan Marlais Thomas was born October 27, 1914, in Swansea, South Wales” (Dylan Thomas 1). His father David John Thomas had a huge influence on his life from a young age. David was an English Literature professor and “would often recite Shakespeare” (Dylan Thomas 1) to Thomas. Poetry became a passion for Thomas and he would spend much of his childhood reading poems from his favorite artist. He looked up to poets such as “Gerald Manley Hopkins, W.B. Yeats, and Edgar Allan Poe” (Dylan Thomas 1). Dylan Thomas’s relationship with his father, drove his passion for poetry, and propelled him to stardom. His father’s passing would lead to his most famous work titled “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”
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Yeates and Shakespeare (207). The artists that Thomas had adored and grew up with his father reciting them to him as a young boy. His word selection and his character association connect closely to W.B. Yeates “Lapis Lazuli” and Shakespeare’s “King Lear”. Cyr see’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” (Thomas) as reflecting “the attitudes towards how one lives in the face of impending death” (208). Cyr and Westphal, both agree that “the sad height” is a time, “a moment in life represented as a place” (Cyr 212, Westphal 113), seen as “a metaphorical plateau of aloneness and loneliness before death. (Westphal 113). Thomas’s father had been slipping away. His soul had diminished and depression has started to take over in his last few …show more content…
“Dylan Thomas’s ‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night’. Through ‘Lapis
Lazuli’ to King Lear.” Papers on Language & Literature, vol. 34, no. 2, Spring98, p.207
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In the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," written by Dylan Thomas, emphasizes resistance towards death as he repeats this exhortation in the last line in every stanza. Imagery is used by Thomas to create the theme of his poem and what it means. Although readers are unaware of the details behind the on coming death of Thomas father, the motives of the author for writing this poem are very obvious. Thomas intends to pursuit his father to resist against death and for him to fight for life. Through "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," Thomas conveys resistance towards death with images of fury and fighting to symbolize the great anger and rage Thomas feels towards the thought of loosing his dying father, though upon first reading then seem banal.
Dylan Thomas sets the tone of his iconic poem with the title, which is also one of the recurring lines in the poem. When the speaker says “Do not go gentle into that good night”(1,6,12,18), he is saying that you should not peacefully accept death. In most cases, many people would consider a peaceful death as good of a death as there can be, but Thomas urges the reader to not accept it. While it may seem like an odd stance, one must consider that towards the end of the poem we learn the speaker is speaking to his father. In context of the poem, this is someone struggling to accept that his father is dying therefore he is begging his father to also not accept it. Another way Dylan Thomas is able to not only reinforce the defiant tone, but also reinforce the central message, is his repetition of critical
Dylan Thomas wrote the poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” It is about a son’s plea to his father who is approaching death. Two lines are repeated in the poem and addressed directly to the father. These lines structure the first stanza and collaborate as a couplet in the last. They are repeated a lot but each time, they have different meanings: statements, pleas, commands, or petitions. Repetition and rhyme scheme are parts of prosody in poetry. The rhyme scheme is built on two rhymes and forms of a pattern. The two rhymes are night and day and the pattern is aba, and in the last stanza, abaa. Even though the poem seems to have too much repetition, the fascinating imagery is more important and readers pay more attention to that instead.
Thomas, Dylan. “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” Poemhunter.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
Holbrook, David. Llareggub Revisted: Dylan Thomas and the State of Modern Poetry. Cambridge: Bowes and Bowes, 1965. 100-101.
Shakespeare, William. "King Lear: A Conflated Text." The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York:
Have you ever heard the name of Dylan Thomas? Well, you probably heard of many people with that name; however, the man I am thinking of is a poet. Even though Dylan Thomas did not have finish school, his love for writing led him to become a wise and well-known poet. One of his most notable quotes is “Do not go gentile into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Thomas formed a family and had three children; however, he left a legacy that is to be remembered for many years, his poems.
True, Thomas is angry, but no child wants to lose a parent. Emotion is not an easy task for men, in general. More over, crying is a sign of weakness. Thomas’ father is dying and naturally, Thomas is having a tough time accepting his father’s death. Thomas wants his father to understand that even his “old age should burn and rage at close of day” (2). Meaning, he should not give up without a fight. During the first stanza, Thomas is speaking directly to his father. While, Thomas’ tone is tender toward his father, but in reality, it is a plea that he “not go gentle into that good night” (1).
Dylan Thomas was born in 1914 of intellectual parents both being literature professors. Long before he could read, his father would recite poetry from classic authors. Many of his poems can be traced to the illustrated style of D.H Lawrence. The imagery he provides of disparity and death in many of his poems. In the span of Dylan’s life, he witnessed both Great Wars. The first war may have been the main topic of discussion by his parents at childhood. And later at service in the air defense over London. Because of his determined health Thomas was not able to enroll in an active combat role during World War II. Thomas life’s experiences played a major role in influencing his writing...
Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night." Nash, Quentin Miller and Julie. Connections: Literature for Composition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. 303.
Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York, NY: Washington Square, 1993. Print.
Dylan Thomas was born on October 27, 1914 in Swansea, Wales. He was educated at Swansea Grammar School. He was urged by his father to go farther in his education, however Thomas began to write. He published his first book in 1934. Thomas and his father had a very close relationship throughout his life. This is important to know while reading the poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night. His father was very ill for many years, and Thomas had to watch his father's suffering. Thomas has said, "Poetry comforts and heals". Hopefully that is what Thomas was doing when he wrote this poem.
Bengtsson, Frederick. “King Lear by William Shakespeare.” Columbia College. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Shakespeare, William, and Russell A. Fraser. King Lear. New York: New American Library, 1998. Print.
Shakespeare, William, and Russell A. Fraser. King Lear. New York: New American Library, 1998. Print.