An Explication of Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas confronts death and the potentially imminent loss of his father. The Speaker, Dylan Thomas, contrasts the attitudes of five different types of men within the poem. The five types of men may be different, but they deal with death the same way, by fighting it until the end. This poem explores the theme of death by using imagery, tone, form, symbolism, and structure. The title “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is repeated four times throughout the poem. It is the first line of the poem as well as the ending of two stanzas (stanzas 2 and 4) and the second to last line of the entire poem. The line “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” also repeats four times and is the final line of the poem. The two lines evoke a sense of urgency for the reader, almost to invoke the idea that death is coming soon and his words should be heeded. The narrator seems to be
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In the second stanza the speaker talks about wise men and how “their words had forked no lightning bolt.” The notion of light and fire come up in lines seven, ten, and fourteen. Line seven states that the good men are “crying how bright.” Line ten talks about the sun and line fourteen says “blaze like meteors.” All of these lines allude to something to do with light. As previously established in this poem light equals life and the forms of light in these lines have to do with the lives of men and living their lives intensely; as intense as the sun or a meteor or a lightning bolt. Another image in the poem comes in stanza three. The speaker is talking about how a good man would confront death and in line eight he talks about dancing in a green bay. Dancing is typically seen as a joyous or a celebratory activity. The good men would celebrate even their smallest deeds when it came time to
In the second stanza the speaker talks about wise men and how “their words had forked no lightning bolt.” The notion of light and fire come up in lines seven, ten, and fourteen. Line seven states that the good men are “crying how bright.” Line ten talks about the sun and line fourteen says “blaze like meteors.” All of these lines allude to something to do with light. As previously established in this poem light equals life and the forms of light in these lines have to do with the lives of men and living their lives intensely; as intense as the sun or a meteor or a lightning bolt. Another image in the poem comes in stanza three. The speaker is talking about how a good man would confront death and in line eight he talks about dancing in a green bay. Dancing is typically seen as a joyous or a celebratory activity. The good men would celebrate even their smallest deeds when it came time to