“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” is a powerful poem by Dylan Thomas that appeals to our need to make our lives count against our inevitable deaths. In this poem, the speaker asserts that old men, at the end of their lives, should resist death as firmly as they can. In fact, they should do everything in their power to never give up and keep on fighting. At the end of the poem, it is revealed that the speaker also has a personal stake in the issue, in that his own father is dying.
In the first stanza, he begins with a command: “Do not go gentle into that good night.” He then proceeds to make a generalized assertion about old age, declaring that one should “burn and rave” against dying, just as they would have in their youth. This message …show more content…
For example, through the use of metaphor in “that good night,” he refers to death as a long sleep, associated with darkness and grief. This darkness is then juxtaposed with the “light” of life; he uses “night” as the metaphor for death, and “light” as the metaphor for life. Another use of metaphor can be seen when the “wise men” are mention to have “forked no lightning,” which is a term used to describe a bolt of lightning split in two-- much like mythological gods exhibiting intense and impressive power. This comparison serves to insinuate that the “wise men” haven’t yet made the impact that they hope to make. Thomas also uses a lot of repetition and parallelism to influence the mood of the poem profoundly. The lines, “do not go gentle into that good night” and “rage, rage against the dying of the light,” are repeated throughout the poem to demonstrate the stress and urgency of the speaker’s tone. At the end of the poem, it is used again, further, to emphasize his emotional and moving plea to his father to embrace life till the very end. The use of repetition also suggests to the reader how the battle against time is ongoing and continuous. On the other hand, the speaker uses parallelism when he talks about the four types of men. He implies that these men, although different, are still alike. Here, he is …show more content…
This is made evident through the strong use of diction such as “burn” and “rage,” suggesting that the poet is quite passionate about the subject. This could potentially be due to the fact that he may be speaking to his own father, moments before his death. In telling him to “rage,” the speaker is asking his father to cling onto his life for a bit longer. Moreover, he claims that though the "dying of the light"--like the setting of the sun-- is a natural process, one should still fight it. From this, we can interpret that the speaker’s attachment to his father results in his inability to let him go and submit to his dismal fate. Consequently, he invokes feelings such as anger, fury, and zealousness. Despite the tone being urgent throughout the poem, we still see a shift occurring between the last two stanzas (lines 15 and 16). Here, the speaker shifts from making general assertions to addressing his father directly, as he asks him not to die. Though, in the context of the poem, this can be understood as one shouldn’t die while regretting things, or leave without making a mark in this world. It is also through this shift that the poet adds a personal dimension to this poem, thus possibly referring to his own emotions and intimate connection to
In the first stanza, he begins with a command: “Do not go gentle into that good night.” He then proceeds to make a generalized assertion about old age, declaring that one should “burn and rave” against dying, just as they would have in their youth. This message …show more content…
For example, through the use of metaphor in “that good night,” he refers to death as a long sleep, associated with darkness and grief. This darkness is then juxtaposed with the “light” of life; he uses “night” as the metaphor for death, and “light” as the metaphor for life. Another use of metaphor can be seen when the “wise men” are mention to have “forked no lightning,” which is a term used to describe a bolt of lightning split in two-- much like mythological gods exhibiting intense and impressive power. This comparison serves to insinuate that the “wise men” haven’t yet made the impact that they hope to make. Thomas also uses a lot of repetition and parallelism to influence the mood of the poem profoundly. The lines, “do not go gentle into that good night” and “rage, rage against the dying of the light,” are repeated throughout the poem to demonstrate the stress and urgency of the speaker’s tone. At the end of the poem, it is used again, further, to emphasize his emotional and moving plea to his father to embrace life till the very end. The use of repetition also suggests to the reader how the battle against time is ongoing and continuous. On the other hand, the speaker uses parallelism when he talks about the four types of men. He implies that these men, although different, are still alike. Here, he is …show more content…
This is made evident through the strong use of diction such as “burn” and “rage,” suggesting that the poet is quite passionate about the subject. This could potentially be due to the fact that he may be speaking to his own father, moments before his death. In telling him to “rage,” the speaker is asking his father to cling onto his life for a bit longer. Moreover, he claims that though the "dying of the light"--like the setting of the sun-- is a natural process, one should still fight it. From this, we can interpret that the speaker’s attachment to his father results in his inability to let him go and submit to his dismal fate. Consequently, he invokes feelings such as anger, fury, and zealousness. Despite the tone being urgent throughout the poem, we still see a shift occurring between the last two stanzas (lines 15 and 16). Here, the speaker shifts from making general assertions to addressing his father directly, as he asks him not to die. Though, in the context of the poem, this can be understood as one shouldn’t die while regretting things, or leave without making a mark in this world. It is also through this shift that the poet adds a personal dimension to this poem, thus possibly referring to his own emotions and intimate connection to