"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Dylan Thomas's poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" is an influential poem that primarily centers around the battle against death. Just a little background information about Dylan Thomas, he was born in 1914 in Wales during World War 1. He wrote during both World Wars and they seemed to have influenced his writing greatly. Thomas establishes an extended metaphor by paralleling death to the progression of the day. "Do not go gentle into that good night" is an incredibly important line in which darkness actually represents the after life or point after death. He also claims "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" which indicates that sunset represents the point of death. Also, it is interesting to note the incredibly emotional diction that Thomas uses to describe this progression. For example, in the first stanza the speaker claims to "rage" against the dying of the light. Rage has the denotation of violent, uncontrollable anger. Thus, Thomas seems to be indicating (through the battle of night and day) to not go down without a fight against death. Relating back to his personal history, you can easily see Thomas's battle like influence from both World Wars that is reflected within his diction. Starting in the third stanza, Thomas establishes another metaphor between death and the sea. He claims,"Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright/Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,/Rage, rage against the dying of the light." The last wave of men are about to crash on to shore and pass away; however, they are also wondering on how their life could have been if they could live longer. In a sense, the fluidity of the ocean water represents life and the stillness of it represents death. Also, Thomas describes the bay as "green". Green has the connotation of life and growth. Thus, it makes sense to describe the future of their potential lives with this color. In the fourth stanza, Thomas begins to describe a different kind of man known as the "Wild men". These are people who live life to the fullest and truly sing "the sun in flight". However, the world that they cherished and lived to the fullest disintegrates within a blink of an eye. This idea of the shortness of life is further exemplified through Thomas's word choice of "flight". Flight gives the connotation of shortness and truly shows how fast life can be especially during the realization of one's death. In the fifth stanza of the poem, Thomas describes "grave men with blinding sight". This use of the word grave indicates that man is dying; however, despite losing his eye sight he is fighting to "blaze like a meteor" or in other words battle death with a fight. In the last stanza of the poem we find that the speaker is talking about his own father who is fighting the battle of day (life) and night (death) with "fierce tears".