Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night was written by Dylan Thomas in 1952. The poem is divided into six stanzas, with a simple rhyme scheme of A,B,A,B etc. The poet wrote this poem at the time of his fathers’ death; so I believe that death has a large theme here. It also seems that perseverance in the face of adversity is a large theme because the poem encourages the reader to live life fully and with great passion; up to and beyond the point of death. This is evident right from the first stanza, second line, when the poet states: “Old age should burn and rave at close of day”. This means that when your time of death comes, your soul should burn with the need to live and the experiences that one has had in life.
Dylan Thomas uses the heading …show more content…
Furthermore, after reading the poem quite a few times, it seems that Dylan Thomas feels that these men may represent characteristics of this father. For example, in the second stanza the poet is addressing “wise men”. Dylan Thomas means to say that though these men may be wise, and therefore know that death is inevitable, they do not welcome death but challenge it for their knowledge has not impacted great change. Readers see this in line 5, “Because their words had forked no lightning,” I believe that lightning is a metaphor for iconic ideas. Next the poet addresses good men. Dylan Thomas is saying that though these men were kind, they were ultimately scared of death. Their good deeds were to go unrecognized (lines seven and eight) and for this reason they will not quietly slip away into death. Wild men are characterized in this poem as brave and zealous, as seen in line 10, “Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,”. Sadly the men learned too late that life is fleeting and are also afraid to die. The line : “ … they grieved it on its way,” makes me think that though they lived their lives free and wild when they realized death was inevitable they feared their own mortality and …show more content…
At this time in the poets life, his father was dying and the poem seems to be a desperate final attempt to convince his father to continue fighting death. It is easy to imagine that at this point Thomas’s father had likely accepted death and was quite frail, often at that point people seem to give up and even welcome death. It appears that the first three stanzas are used to remind his father of who he was in his younger years, and what those types of men would do when faced with death. “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray, rage, rage against the dying of the light,” is a very powerful line filled with emotion. It almost makes me want to cry, I imagine a man kneeling next to his fathers death bed and begging him to fight for life. Overall this poem evokes a lot of empathy as well as strength. While the poem is written in a time of sorrow and death, it also urges readers to live passionately and face fears with strength and perseverance. I feel a sense of purpose and moreover the obligation to not waste my time on this
Dylan Thomas uses the heading …show more content…
Furthermore, after reading the poem quite a few times, it seems that Dylan Thomas feels that these men may represent characteristics of this father. For example, in the second stanza the poet is addressing “wise men”. Dylan Thomas means to say that though these men may be wise, and therefore know that death is inevitable, they do not welcome death but challenge it for their knowledge has not impacted great change. Readers see this in line 5, “Because their words had forked no lightning,” I believe that lightning is a metaphor for iconic ideas. Next the poet addresses good men. Dylan Thomas is saying that though these men were kind, they were ultimately scared of death. Their good deeds were to go unrecognized (lines seven and eight) and for this reason they will not quietly slip away into death. Wild men are characterized in this poem as brave and zealous, as seen in line 10, “Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,”. Sadly the men learned too late that life is fleeting and are also afraid to die. The line : “ … they grieved it on its way,” makes me think that though they lived their lives free and wild when they realized death was inevitable they feared their own mortality and …show more content…
At this time in the poets life, his father was dying and the poem seems to be a desperate final attempt to convince his father to continue fighting death. It is easy to imagine that at this point Thomas’s father had likely accepted death and was quite frail, often at that point people seem to give up and even welcome death. It appears that the first three stanzas are used to remind his father of who he was in his younger years, and what those types of men would do when faced with death. “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray, rage, rage against the dying of the light,” is a very powerful line filled with emotion. It almost makes me want to cry, I imagine a man kneeling next to his fathers death bed and begging him to fight for life. Overall this poem evokes a lot of empathy as well as strength. While the poem is written in a time of sorrow and death, it also urges readers to live passionately and face fears with strength and perseverance. I feel a sense of purpose and moreover the obligation to not waste my time on this