The Elevation of Life Before Death in “Do not Go Gentle into that Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas

In “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night”, Thomas describes men as wise, good, wild, and grave, and displays their perspective about death. For wise men, “because their words had forked no lightning, they / do not go gentle into that good night” (5-6). The metaphor in the line reflects wise men’s regret in life as their words, the ability of intelligent people, forked no lightning, meaning they did not leave any significant marks in history before dying. Therefore as good night, a metaphor for death, approaches, wise men resist dying to satisfy their discontent, and all other men convey similar perspectives. However, since night will come anyways, Thomas know men cannot escape death, so he agonizes for his incompetence in saving his father. Comparably in “One Art,” Bishop claims “so many things seemed filled with the intent / to be lost that their loss is no disaster” (2-3). The disappeared objects metaphorize Bishop’s loss of precious memory fragment, such as losing the mothers’ watch representing the farewell with her mother. At first, Bishop expresses she is fine with things vanishing. Yet overtime, the materials grow more substantial, and ultimately, when Bishop separates with her beloved, she notes “it may look like (Write it!) a disaster” (19), mentioning loss is indeed a disaster. She knows the farewell was

Two literary pieces, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by, Dylan Thomas and “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by, Emily Dickinson are both poems that discuss the topic of death. While there are some similarities and comparisons between the two poems, when it comes to the themes, both poets writing styles are quite different from one another which makes each poem unique. Thomas and Dickinson both use identical figurative language devices and other literature symbolisms as they explain their main themes which contrasts the differences to the concept of death. These distinct variations between poems are apparent in both the form, and how the choice of words is used in the poems. Both of the authors have presented two very different ideas on death. The poems are well distinguished literature devices, they share minor similarities and differences between each other and how they present the meaning of death to a toll.

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.

Touching humans the most is the acceptance of unstoppable death. We all know that death will be our fate some day, but how we accept or how we deal with it is left to each individual. "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," written by Dylan Thomas, emphasizes raging against death towards his dying father as he repeats this exhortation in the last line in every stanza. Imagery, sound, metrics, and tone, are used by Thomas to create the theme of his poem and what it means.

Both "Death Be Not Proud" and "Do not go gentle into that good night" do not necessarily see death as a negative thing. In looking at the title "Do not go gentle into that good night" one notices that Thomas calls the night, presumably a metaphor for death, good. He also says "wise men at their end know dark is right" (4). This would suggest that he believes that death is a necessary occurrence. If Thomas sees death as necessary, then why does he say "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (19)? The answer to this can be found in line 16 when he addresses his father. Throughout the whole poem he names different types of men, then in the last stanza he specifically names his father. I think that in this poem Thomas is trying to express that even though he knows that death is natural he doesn't want his father to die. This creates a sort of conflict within the poem where Thomas knows that eventually death will come for everyone, but he wants to put it off as long as possible in the case of his father.

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.

The second stanza is addressed to ‘wise men’ who know they cannot hide from death and it’s inevitability. Poetic techniques used in this stanza are metaphors, rhyme, symbols and repetition. The line “words had forked no lightning” is a metaphor because words cannot actually fork lightning. This line suggests that the men hadn’t made an impact on the world, nor accomplished all they wanted to in life. Rhyming is also a technique used in every line, ‘right’ and ‘night’ are rhyming words used, and ‘they’ in the second line rhymes with ‘day’ in the previous stanza. So ‘night’, ‘light’ and ‘right’ rhyme, and ‘day’ and ‘they’ rhyme, hence the ABA ABA rhyming pattern. The third poetic device used in the second stanza is symbolism of ‘dark’ in the first line, which represents death. Repetition of “do not go gentle into that good night” is repeated every second stanza as the ending line, ‘night’ in the final line also symbolises death.

In the line, "Old age should burn and rave at close of day", "old age" can be seen as personification, but can also be interpreted as metonymy for his father. "Burn and rave" are strong emotions Thomas feels his father should take against "the close of the day" which is a metaphor for death. In the second stanza, the phrase "dark is right" represents a concise acknowledgement of the intellectual recognition how death is unavoidable; however, the awareness that his father's words had "forked no lightning" is a metaphor for the failure to influence the powerful and brilliant forces in society (Grolier 231).

The immense urgency that fuels the temporal themes resonates in lines from Dylan Thomas’s greatest poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night,” which, is cited a second time here (the first at his initial launch) as Cooper is on the verge of death from Mann’s betrayal, serve as both the narrative’s commentary and chorus. However, the poem’s exhortation to “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” is about fighting death and cherishing life, appearing in the narrative at crucial times when time/death is approaching, directed less at the film’s characters than at its present audience - urging all of us watching in our own dying light to do more than passively resign ourselves to imminent

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.

The poem opens with the firm statement, “Do not go gentle into that good night” (Dylan Thomas, 1). Immediately the speaker sets the precedent that he or she is able to influence the reader based on the assertive use of “do not go.” The first stanza then continues: “Old age should burn and rage at close of day” (2). The speaker introduces the idea of old age “rag[ing]” by comparing old age to a fire that is not yet burnt out, and furthermore shows that he or she believes that people rage against death rather than to accept it.

The vivid imagery used in this poem helps convey the strong image within. In the second stanza, “Because their words had forked no lightning they/ Do not go gentle into that good light./”(5-6) their words had no impact on the world, and they will not go into death gently, as they want to make an impact before they leave their earthly domain. Another example of imagery throughout the poem is in the final stanza. In line 16, the poet implements his own father, “And you, my father, there on the sad height, /” (16) his father is on the verge of death.

When you are near your death you may start to notice you didn't have as successful as a life as you would've hoped: "Wild man who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn too late, they grieved it on its way". Men who were "Wild" are realizing that they have nothing to show for their work while on earth and ever getting they didn't make more of an impression on the world. Another example of why you should not waste your time on earth is because you want to prosper more: "their words had forked no lightning they do not go gentle into that good night. " Do not go gentle into that good night is constantly repeated throughout the poem to prove he feels they should fight against dying especially since they haven't had as much success as they wanted, This quote says "their words forked no lightning" which means what they have done and said has not had much of an effect on people and the world.in conclusion Dylan Thomas believes you should live your lives to the fullest so you do not regret

Living a life of reason is the goal of many people; a life of principle seems to make the acceptance of death easier. As American novelist Robert Byrne said, "The purpose of life is a life of purpose." When death arrives, people tend to examine the point of their life. Accordingly, many may feel scared as death approaches because they realize their life has been in vain. However, if a person manages to live a life of purpose, he or she can find solace in the fact that he or she may be immortalized because of their actions. Although people find comfort in this, Dylan Thomas does not. In Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," he writes of four classes of men: good men, wild men, grave men, and wise men. Two classes, grave and

The powerful metaphors employed in this work compare the “good night” with the crushing blow of death and the“wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight” to heroism and achievement. Dylan uses oxymorons and similes to emphasize the desperation he felt to highlight the conflicts of man. The “blinding sight”, the “fierce tears” and the “blind eyes [that] could blaze like meteors and be gay,” serve