Do not go gentle into that good night
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.
What are my initial thoughts about this poem as to what its about? Its written a very different way.
Curiosity arose inside of me the first time I read Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night as I was overwhelmed with questions and needed to re read the poem to figure out what it meant. This may be a common scenario for many people but it was more than just my questions that urged me to read the poem over again. It was the words. I began to enjoy the tone the author uses in the poem more and more because of its well crafted writing. This helped to evoke emotion inside of me that I hadn’t gotten from reading a piece of literature in quite a while. Author Dylan Thomas has put so much care into these sentences he has written and it really helps bring quality into the poem.
I was recommended to read this poem by a friend and since I had never heard about Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night prior from being told about it I went into this poem feeling rather intrigued. I noticed at first that this wasn’t going to be an ordinary poem due to the tone of the words and the passion I could feel from reading it. After reading through it a couple of times I began to find a meaning within the poem. The line, “Do not go gentle into that good night” was what first gave me insight into the poems meaning as it is used constantly throughout the course of the poem, so I figured it must have some deep connection to the poems purpose. I believe this line is somewhat of a plead from the author because he wants someone to hold onto their final night a little longer. From this I could understand that whomever the Dylan was referring to was of great importance to him. It was when I realized this that I also made sense of the sentence, “And you, my father, there on that sad height”, that this poem is dedicated to Dylan’s father.
I find it rather beautiful that Dylan Thomas wrote such a mesmerizing poem to honor his dying father. I don’t know the emotional feeling of loosing a parent but this could be why Dylan’s poem is written with such an emotional tone. Its as if this poem is Dylan’s cry for help, pleading for his father to stay a little longer. There’s not many cases where I have read a poem that been written from this perspective and it really helps make this poem feel more sincere and heartfelt. However in certain places the poem doesn’t seem entirely dedicated to his father. There are mentions of men such as the, “Wise men, Good men and wild men” who are also pleaded to not go gentle into the good night. In my opinion the author describes these other men to symbolize how different people will react when death is upon them. Which is whats so significant about the line “Do not go gentle into that good night”, as I believe it describes how one must put up a fight in which there is no feeling of regret, rage or shame in the final days of their life. The contrast of “good men” and “wild men” shows that the author wants every man despite any of their wrong doings in life to rest peaceful when death comes. We are all just human and even though some people don’t deserve sympathy for their sins all people are still deserving of one thing above all. To die happily. However I also believe when the author mentions the, “Wise men, Good men and wild men” that these could be characteristics of his own father. No man is perfect as you can never go through life without making mistakes since that is how we learn as humans and perhaps that’s why Dylan would be referring to his father as “wild” or “wise” simply because he was. I believe that the line, ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ is a plead from Dylan which makes sense when referring to his father because at the end of the day no one really wants their parents to die. No one can emotionally prepare for the loss of a loved one and to me that’s what this poem symbolizes; a man who doesn’t want his father to let go.
There is one guarantee in life. You, are going to die. We can’t control when or how we die and this is something we must come to terms with otherwise we can live a life full of fear towards the end and regret towards what we never did. Even people who have made bad decisions and done bad things in life deserve to rest in peace. I believe that all people perceived as bad are often just as innocent as anybody else but have been shaped into something they are not by world around them. I believe in no god but I believe to rest in peace is to die with no fear when the end has arrived.
If you want a poem that has been superbly crafted with pure emotion and love then I cannot recommend Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night enough. You wont be able to read this poem once without fully understanding it so take your time and enjoy the process of deciphering each sentence and its meaning. I would highly recommend you take a few minutes to read this poem as there is plenty of thought provoking text in this poem that will leave you questioning several things about death.