Dylan Thomas’s Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Fighting the Inevitable in Dylan Thomas’s Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
In Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” Thomas portrays the idea of an individual approaching death and that one should hang on until the end. They should not give up or go easy, they should fight, even though they know that death is inevitable. It could come at any moment and it is completely unavoidable. Death and dying are presented and expressed in many aspects of this poem, as Thomas depicts the idea that although death is inevitable, those near their end should not give up without a fight.
The poem begins with a restatement of the title, “Do not go gentle into that good night,” (Webb 659-660) as a phrase and also a refrain throughout the poem. This phrase uses the adjective “gentle” (Webb 659-660) to represent giving up easy, and the phrase “good night,” (Webb 659-660) to represent death itself. This phrase is representation of him stating that those near death should not give up easily and should not die without a fight. Another refrain throughout this poem is the phrase, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” (Webb 659-660) and this phrase uses the phrase, “dying of the light” (Webb 659-660) to once again represent death and to portray again his attempt to convince those approaching their end to, “Rage (fight), rage (fight) against the dying of the light (death),” basically to fight death for as long as they can.
Throughout the poem Thomas refers to the dying individuals as “wise men,” “good men,” “wild men,” and “grave men,” (Webb 659-660) describing those individuals using different terms as an expression of the way that they lived their lives; and regardless of their ups and downs they should still go out fighting. Whether, good men who have lived approved lives, wise men who have lived experienced and knowledgeable lives, wild men who have lived uncontrolled lives, or grave men who have lived long lives and are on the verge of death; they should
In Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” Thomas portrays the idea of an individual approaching death and that one should hang on until the end. They should not give up or go easy, they should fight, even though they know that death is inevitable. It could come at any moment and it is completely unavoidable. Death and dying are presented and expressed in many aspects of this poem, as Thomas depicts the idea that although death is inevitable, those near their end should not give up without a fight.
The poem begins with a restatement of the title, “Do not go gentle into that good night,” (Webb 659-660) as a phrase and also a refrain throughout the poem. This phrase uses the adjective “gentle” (Webb 659-660) to represent giving up easy, and the phrase “good night,” (Webb 659-660) to represent death itself. This phrase is representation of him stating that those near death should not give up easily and should not die without a fight. Another refrain throughout this poem is the phrase, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light,” (Webb 659-660) and this phrase uses the phrase, “dying of the light” (Webb 659-660) to once again represent death and to portray again his attempt to convince those approaching their end to, “Rage (fight), rage (fight) against the dying of the light (death),” basically to fight death for as long as they can.
Throughout the poem Thomas refers to the dying individuals as “wise men,” “good men,” “wild men,” and “grave men,” (Webb 659-660) describing those individuals using different terms as an expression of the way that they lived their lives; and regardless of their ups and downs they should still go out fighting. Whether, good men who have lived approved lives, wise men who have lived experienced and knowledgeable lives, wild men who have lived uncontrolled lives, or grave men who have lived long lives and are on the verge of death; they should