Analysis Of Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night By Dylan Thomas
In Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” Thomas writes to his father, urging him to hang on to life. Throughout the poem, Thomas considers how others journey through life and how they perceive death when it comes upon them. Thomas constantly reminds his father not to willingly leave this world and to hang on to the life he has left. However, after thinking deeper about Thomas’s strife, I learned that Thomas does not have the best intentions for his father. By understanding the formation of the poem and Thomas’s diction, I discovered that the “wise men”Thomas rants about have the best intentions for his father, and the “dark” that he is fearful of is indeed “right” (4). This particular poem is classified as a villanelle
which consists of five tercets and a concluding quatrain, an aba rhyme pattern, and repeating first and third lines. Using the structure of the stanzas, Thomas sets a tone for the poem and builds his argument about why his father should hang on to life. However, the men he talks about in stanzas one through four accept their fates of death, especially the wise men who know “dark is right” (4). The rhyme scheme of this poem interestingly puts emphasis on the conflict between “night” and “light,” for example “right,” “bright,” and “sight” (1,3,4,7,13). The rhyming of these words suggests an argument in whether the “wise men” are correct in their “dark is right” or Thomas is correct in “[r]age, rage against the dying of the light” (3-4). Also, the repeating first and third lines convey Thomas’s sense of desperateness to urge his father to keep the will to live. In contrast, the other men know death is near, and they are aware nothing can stop it. The structure of this poem helps clarify what Thomas says, but it is not the only evidence we have. Along with structure, diction takes on an important role in the poem as well. A good example is in the second stanza; Thomas writes “[t]hough 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” (4-6). Thomas’s word choice in this stanza allows me to relate a sense of pretension to his writing in these lines. Given that Thomas talks presumptuously about wise men, he does not label himself as one, so how does he know that wise men choose to fight death? I know that since these men are wise, they are aware of death and welcome its presence, as death is the bringer of new life. Considering the biographical information and the context of this poem, Thomas is going through emotional hardship about his father dying, and he is writing encouragingly about what he wants to see happen in his father. Understandingly, the majority of the diction in this poem is based around what Thomas hopes to experience, not necessarily what is logical. In conclusion, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a direct, desperate call from Thomas to his father in regard to his father’s final illness. Despite his father’s closeness to death and coming peace, Thomas continues to hopelessly try and drag him back to a world of sorrows, trouble, and worry. In the end, the wise men with which Thomas disagrees know the best possible outcome for Thomas’s father: a journey into a good night.
which consists of five tercets and a concluding quatrain, an aba rhyme pattern, and repeating first and third lines. Using the structure of the stanzas, Thomas sets a tone for the poem and builds his argument about why his father should hang on to life. However, the men he talks about in stanzas one through four accept their fates of death, especially the wise men who know “dark is right” (4). The rhyme scheme of this poem interestingly puts emphasis on the conflict between “night” and “light,” for example “right,” “bright,” and “sight” (1,3,4,7,13). The rhyming of these words suggests an argument in whether the “wise men” are correct in their “dark is right” or Thomas is correct in “[r]age, rage against the dying of the light” (3-4). Also, the repeating first and third lines convey Thomas’s sense of desperateness to urge his father to keep the will to live. In contrast, the other men know death is near, and they are aware nothing can stop it. The structure of this poem helps clarify what Thomas says, but it is not the only evidence we have. Along with structure, diction takes on an important role in the poem as well. A good example is in the second stanza; Thomas writes “[t]hough 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” (4-6). Thomas’s word choice in this stanza allows me to relate a sense of pretension to his writing in these lines. Given that Thomas talks presumptuously about wise men, he does not label himself as one, so how does he know that wise men choose to fight death? I know that since these men are wise, they are aware of death and welcome its presence, as death is the bringer of new life. Considering the biographical information and the context of this poem, Thomas is going through emotional hardship about his father dying, and he is writing encouragingly about what he wants to see happen in his father. Understandingly, the majority of the diction in this poem is based around what Thomas hopes to experience, not necessarily what is logical. In conclusion, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a direct, desperate call from Thomas to his father in regard to his father’s final illness. Despite his father’s closeness to death and coming peace, Thomas continues to hopelessly try and drag him back to a world of sorrows, trouble, and worry. In the end, the wise men with which Thomas disagrees know the best possible outcome for Thomas’s father: a journey into a good night.