Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight by Dylan
Thomas
by Barry Wright
Essay: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight by Dylan Thomas
Pages: 10
Rating: 3 stars
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Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight by Dylan Thomas
Touching humans the most is the acceptance of unstoppable death. We all know that death will be our fate some
day, but how we accept or how we deal with it is left to each individual. "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,"
written by Dylan Thomas, emphasizes raging against death towards his dying father as he repeats this exhortation
in the last line in every stanza. Imagery, sound, metrics, and tone, are used by Thomas to create the theme of his
poem and what it means.
Here is how the imagery of the poem develops the meaning of the poem. First of all, Thomas convey resistance
towards death with images of fury and fighting, as in "do not go gentle." With images of "good night" and "dying
of the light," Thomas conveys death as the end where darkness prevails. He takes his stand within concrete,
particular existence. He places birth and death at the poles of his vision. Excessive images of anger and rage
towards death exemplify the passion Thomas feels for life. The images of "burn" and "rave at close of day" shows a
sense of anger and rage. Contrasting images of light and darkness in the poem create a warmth of living and the
coldness of death, so as to discourage people from choosing the dreary, bitter frigidity of death.
The images of "wise men" have "forked no lighting" with their words, the "good men" have not "danced in a green
bay", the "wild men" have "learned too late", and the "grave men" have not used their blinding sight." Thomas tells
his dying father that all men good or evil, smart or ignorant, need to fight against death. Only then, after a man
has made his true contribution to society, may that man peacefully be prepared to die. Usin...