Do not go gentle into that
goodnight
Dylan Thomas
(1914 – 1953, England)
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
Biographical note:
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
Form:
• This poem is a Villanelle.
- 19 lines
- uses 2 rhymes "night" and "day"
- 5 three-line stanzas (tercets) and a Quatrain
-the 1st and 3rd lines are repeated alternately in poem and brought
together in the final quatrain as a rhymin couplet.
The villanelle was usually used for simple, light poetry, but its use here is
ironic because the subject matter – death – is so serious
• The strict form and the controlled iambic pentameter (unstressed
syllable – stressed syllable) contrast shaprly with the plea to “burn”
“rave” and“ rage”, which imply a lack of control.
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
The Title:
adjective
GRAMMATICAL ERROR
grammatically this should read "gently" an adverb not "gentle" an
adjective. "Gentle" implies an act of being instead of doing. Thomas
wanted his father to defy death, and not calmly accept it like a
gentleman. With "gently" the poet is saying: "Die if you must but don't
go quietly". With "gentle", he is saying "Don't die! Fight it!"
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
paradox: He is asking his father to fight against death,but describes
death as "good" which is contradictory. This could link to Thomas's
religious beliefs and the conflict within his soul between his belief in the
afterlife "the good night" and his passion for life and the earthly existence.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
could also mean "good bye". words
used sending one to sleep - eternal
sleep
assonance:age, rave, rage,day soft and gentle sounds which contrasts against the consonants)
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
sunset: end of life
(metaphor- death)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
transferred epithet - it is not the light dying but the man.
Words at end of each line in St 1 are all synonymous with death. euphemisms for death
(stanza 1: Speaker using "night" as a metaphor for death: the span of one day could
represent a man's lifetime, which makes his sunset his approaching demise.)
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
these men may know that death is inevitable, still fight
death as they have not completed their purpose through
"words" - artistic, creative expression, intellectual
prowess.
poets/philosophers/intellectuals
death
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words have forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
term used to describe a bolt of
lightning split in two much like
mythological gods suggesting
intense and impressive power.
This implies that these "wise
men" have not made the impact
they have hoped to make.
metaphor
IRONY: men appear to be "good", they are
praising their own goodness. Not only do
they give in to self-praise but we are told their
deeds are "frail"(PUN). Their deeds did not
dance, only "might have".
PUN: passed on (death) and waving 'bye'
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds
green= land
bay = ocean
danced in a green bay,
PUN: men's deeds that are weak and also the men
themselves who are mortal and likely getting old.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Metaphor: "wave" and "green bay" (ocean
metaphor) as their wave crashes against the rocks,
the men shout how beautifully that wave could have
danced on the bay if it could've stayed out at sea
instead of rolling onto the beach. This implies that
they feel their goodness have not yet been wellreceived and they could have a bigger impact.
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
men with
wild,
compulsive
behaviour
PUN:'son' of God - Christian faith, who is grieved by the wild ways
of men. In some ways this could serve as Thomas's redemption of
his drinking and wild behaviour as it could be considered that
Thomas was of those "wild men". These men cannot give in to
death because they still must seek forgiveness.
'sun in flight' time moving fastmovement of sun
from sunrise to
metaphor:poetry
sunset
Wild men who caught and sang the
in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
Personification: they grieved the
sun because they did not live
right representing the beauty of
life. They rather lived chaotic
lives. Remember: the sun could
also be a pun ‘son’ of God who is
grieving for their sins
Literally, these could refer to men who have lost their sight in an effort to
learn more. However, their “blind eyes" could also refer to the fact that in
their quest to learn of life, they are no more closer to God than those who
have enjoyed life. The speaker implies that God wants us to be happy in
our quest to be closer to Him. PARADOX: in losing one's sight, you "see"
with greater insight and understanding (simile: meteors – bright)
grave = serious (pun) place of burial
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
oxymoron
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
meteors: a star that has come to the end of its life and is burning out
(death)
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
Speaks directly to his
father, however, there
is no response. This
makes the poem a
dramatic monologue
cliff of death
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
For his poetry
Praying both to his
father to fight death
and to God, in this
moment of anguish
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
For his drinking
He wants his father to fight
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
HE IS DESPERATELY DESIRING A REACTION FROM HIS FATHER
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
NOTE:
We know that Thomas was being
quite ironic and that:
- wise men were not wise
- good men were not good
- wild men caused too much grief
- serious men were too miserable to
earn God's approval
yet, all of them fought against Death.
One could thus say that his father
was wise, good, not wild nor serious
therefore could go gently into death.
Poem filled with OPPOSITES:
night - day (death and life)
light - dark
death - life
sight - blindness
good - evil
We have the alliteration in 'd' and 'g' in
the two repeating lines - hard and
powerful sounds.
They are also the initial sounds of "God"
and "devil" emphasising Thomas's
conflict in beliefs and the contrary
aspects of life.
Thomas struggled deeply with his
religious views… he loved life and acted
impulsively. His behaviour contrasted to
what was expected from him from a
religious view.
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11
TONE: Commanding tone throughout poem, particular in Stanza 1. However,
in Stanza 6, the tone becomes beseeching.
There is irony in the fact that the speaker rages and raves in the way he
wants his father to, but his father remains silent and offers no protest.
The speaker asserts that old men at the end of their lives should resist
death as strongly as they can. In fact, they should only leave this world
kicking and screaming, furious that they have to die at all. At the end of the
poem, we discover that the speaker has a personal stake in this issue: his
own father is dying. This poem is a dramatic monologue. We have the
speaker addressing the poet, but there is no response.
Mrs G. Ismail-Le Chat/ Spine Road High School/ Grade 11