Poetry Response #1

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

By 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."

            This is a poem of passion. It’s not hard at all to see that; the title itself is a call to not lay down and accept the bitter certainty of death. Instead, Thomas calls for those nearing their end to “burn and rave at close of day,” to let their flickering souls flare and repel the darkness threatening to retake them. Even in this first stanza, there’s an underlying current of anger that shines through in the word choice – rave at close of day, rage against the dying of the light.

            Throughout the poem, I notice the imagery of light being invoked repeatedly. Burning and raving in old age, words that fork lightning, singing the sun in flight, and eyes blazing like meteors. In every case, this imagery is applied to the dying – it’s they who burn and rave and sing, their words that fork lightning and their eyes like meteors. Moreover, all of these instances of imagery invoke a similar feeling of anger and injustice toward the encroaching night. Light and anger come together to create an image of a flame that drives the darkness back.

            The last stanza, specifically the first two lines, confused me a little bit. The usage of the term father left me wondering if the speaker was referring to their actual father, or to the Lord who bears that title. I believe it refers to their actual father, because the speaker seems to be instructing them to rage against their coming death (which wouldn’t make sense if they were speaking to God). Even here, the feeling of anger is evident, as the speaker tells their father to shed fierce tears from their sad height, to rage as so many good and wise men do.