Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night By Dylan Thomas

In the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," by Dylan Thomas, he uses various forms of diction and themes to explain death must not be something we greet with sorrow, but instead with the feeling of accomplishment. Thomas’s use of diction throughout the poem leans primarily towards the negative point of view of abandoning oneself during their final moments. The author twists the positive words in the villanelle to give them an adverse tone, as he uses good night not to wish someone a restful sleep, but to use it as a metaphor for death. The poem characterizes human beings into different categories, from the ones who know death is upon them and they accept the truth with open arms to the ones who are close to death but have not left

In Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," the speaker is a son talking to his aging father and pleading with him to fight against death. The son knows that death is the inevitable end to every life, but feels one should not give up to death too easily. By using metaphor, imagery, and repetition, Thomas reinforces the son's message that aging men see their lives with sudden clarity and realize how they might have lived happier, more productive lives. These men rail against fate, fighting for more time to set things right.

Thomas provokes these men into wanting more time and desiring the courage to fight back against the Grim Reaper. The "wise men" and the "wild men," regardless of character, deserves the opportunity to live into old age and accomplish what they set out to do. And the "wise men," who regret the fact that they didn't do the good deeds they were set out to do, and realizing that it was too late for them to do it.

The first group that Thomas depicts are wise men. In the stanza’s first line, “Though wise men at their end know dark is right,” (4) he proposes that they all agree that death is the final part life’s natural cycle and that they contain the wisdom to know that they ought to accept it. Nevertheless, the next line argues that they war against it because they lack the legacy that exist long after one has succumb to death. Thomas uses line (5), “Because their words had forked no lighting” to convey that they grip onto life because they want to leave a print on the sands of time.

. . should burn and rave at the close of day”(2). This means that old men should fight when they are dying and their age should not prevent them from resisting death. Another example of personification in the poem is “Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay”(8). This line personifies the men’s frail deeds by saying that they could have danced. This means that the potential actions of the men could have flourished and contributed greatly to their lives. The metaphor “. . . words had forked no lightning. . .”(5) is about how the men had done nothing significant with their lives. They had not achieved anything great or caused a major change. The simile “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay” is about how even grave and serious men will fight against death for as long as they can. Another notable example of figurative language within the poem is “. . . blinding sight”(13). This oxymoron details how the men can see very well and it is very obvious to them that they will die soon, but they know that they can control how they will leave this world. There is an abundance of imagery within this poem, a few examples of which are “. . . danced in a green bay”(8), and “. . . caught and sang the sun in flight”(10) . These examples of imagery are both appealing to the sense of sight by using descriptive words such as “Green” and “danced” in the first example and words such as “caught” and “flight” among others. The second example also appeals to the sense of sound by

Contrary to Frost?s peaceful, luring diction and images, Dylan Thomas uses forceful, irate words to deter death. "No poet gives a greater sense of the feel of life" as Thomas, who provokes the reader to "rage" against death (Ackerman 407). Thomas conveys a resistance towards death with images of fury and fighting, as in "do not go gentle." Vivacious words as "blaze" and "burn" intensify desires to live on and to the fullest. With images of "good night" and "dying of the light," Thomas conveys death as the "end where only darkness prevails" (Savage 381). He takes his "stand within concrete, particular existence, he places birth and death at the poles of his vision" (Savage 381). "Life [for Thomas] begins at birth and ceases at death" therefore leaving no room for a previous life or an after life (Savage 381). Excessive images of anger and rage towards death exemplify the passion Thomas feels for life. His villanelle repeats the theme of living and fury through the most forceful two lines, "do not go gentle into that good night" and "rage, rage against the dying of the light." Contrasting images of light and darkness in the poem create the warmth of living and the coldness in death, so as to shun people from choosing the bleak, bitter frigidity of death.

In “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, the poet uses a metaphor for death and a great deal of figurative language to convey his idea of why one should not accept death so easily in their last moments. This message resonates through Thomas’ use of a striking theme and aggressive diction, making for an acerbic tone or attitude. Throughout his villanelle, Thomas urges one to continuously fight and hold onto life for as long as they can and labels the four common types of people who are understanding of the inevitability of death and how they differ in their perspectives. He categorizes these people as the wise, the good, the wild, and the grave, all of whom their names easily correlate with their outlook on death. He addresses

In the first stanza, Thomas

The sunlight of the day is a metaphor for life while the night signifies death. Line one, which is repeated four times, “do not go gentle into that good night” uses night or the darkness to symbolize death. Line three, which is repeated three times in the poem, “rage, rage against dying of the light”, he writes of fighting against the fading of the light or life. In line four, “though wise men know dark is right,” Thomas writes that even the smartest man knows that dying or the dark is part of life. In line 3 of the first stanza, writes “the old age should burn and rave at the close of day” or as we know it to be sunset, is an image representing end of the one’s life.

In Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” the main theme represents approaching death and how life should be lived to the fullest with no regrets. As for the technical aspects, there is a constant use of repetition, an ABA rhyme scheme, and no apparent shift. As for poetic devices, there are a lack of hyperboles and metaphors. The format of the poem is a villanelle, meaning it has a total of 19 lines with five tercets, followed by a concluding quatrain with 6 stanzas in total. The speaker is able to display the abstract concept of the poem through symbolism, structure, and tone.

Everyone will die eventually, but different people has different attitudes towards death. “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a poem Dylan Thomas wrote to his dying father in 1947 to encourage him to fight death. The speaker of this poem is Thomas himself and he expresses the theme of this poem which is when we face death, we should not just give up and accept death quietly and peacefully, we should fight for more life and never give in to death. Symbolisms are used in this poem. Tomas uses some words to symbolize death and life.

One of his best works, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, is a famous example of the poetic form called villanelle. Enriched with a raw emotional power, Thomas uses this poem to address his dying father and encourages him to defy his fate and cling onto his life for as long as he can. As a result, the poem shifts from an unclear yet universal audience to the poet’s own dying father, thus making the poet the speaker as well. Though the poem comprises of various poetic devices such as metaphors, visual imagery, alliteration, repetition, assonance, (and many more), the speaker’s critical and insurgent tone is considered the most important aspect as this is what has has preserved the poem amongst the most-read works in

People would not want to hear that their loved ones merely gave up and died passively. This poem in itself is a celebration of life, the poem is not only about death but it is an affirmation of life. To further emphasise the points being made Dylan Thomas utilises a wide range of literary devices. Parallelism is used from lines seven to fifteen to juxtapose the different attitudes of the so called “genres” of men at their death. This is used to outline that if you continuously lead one set type of lifestyle whether it is as a “wild man”, a “grave man” or a “good man” you will not be satisfied when your time comes to die. The only true way to be satisfied is to live a life of balance; only with a good contrast can you be at peace.

Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a rallying cry to fight death even though death is inevitable. The speaker, who is likely Thomas as he wrote mainly lyric poetry, explains why different men fight death and therefore why his father should fight death. Thomas uses quite distinct nature imagery to depict this.

Firstly, he uses the phrase “danced in a green bay”. In this sentence, he describes the bay as green which, when you think literally instead of figuratively, sets a weird sight for the eyes, as bays are blue. However, the “green” is referring to life all around us and so when he says “danced” he is referring to living, and “green bay” means a world full of life. He is once again using vivid descriptive language to depict a desirable world, and a wonderful sight: a place that’s worth fighting and persevering to stay in. Secondly, he uses the phrase “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors”. In this sentence, “blind eyes” is referring to weakness, or disease, and when he finishes the simile by saying, “blaze like meteors”, he is referring to going out with a bang, or continuing to fight. The phrase seems to be referring to sight, as it uses the word “eyes” but, actually, it is referring to the feeling and the touch of continuing to live - really live life. This directly relates to the theme because he seems to be saying that even in his father’s weakened state, he can continue to persevere; continue to fight for his life, or else go out with a bang. The author of this poem uses very descriptive imagery to make the reader, or his father want to keep fighting to live in this wonderful