Analysis Of Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Poet Dylan Thomas died in 1953 at the age of 39. It is believed that Thomas died of alcohol poisoning, since he was a known heavy drinker. However, Thomas’s obituary in the New York Times states that the poet died of a “cerebral ailment.” Many theories have come up around about the New York City smog, possible pneumonia, but the most common is alcohol poisoning. Thomas’s poem “Do not go gentle into that good night” was published two years before his death. The poem encourages fighting against the supposed inevitably of death, and stresses that death should not just be suddenly accepted, and that one should go out fighting. Thomas is extremely passionate throughout the poem that addresses his dying father. He encourages the man to keep fighting, and not accept old age and death. Thomas encourages the audience to “rage against the dying of the light,” to not just die without standing your ground and putting up a fight. Thomas understands that his father is old, and that death is inevitable, but he does not want that to be an excuse to succumb to death. The format of this poem is extremely unusual given the content.
Thomas also suggests that in fighting death, there may be some peace, and that we ourselves will provide a light, whether or not we provided one in life. In each of the four middle stanzas, Thomas addresses different men that face death: “wise,” “good,” “wild,” and “grave.” But he starts the last stanza with “And you,” before addressing his father. It seems that he intends his father to be among those men that resist death, which perhaps could be why he chose the word “gentle” in the poem rather than the more correct “gently.” It is possible that he categorizes his father as a “gentle” or kind man. If that is the case, it seems as though his lines really are more pleading or sad, begging his kind father not to just go into the darkness that is