Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night - Dylan Thomas

Within the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" Dylan Thomas writes about his dying father and writes about resisting dying at an old age. Thomas encourages living until the last breath. Thomas represents the view through imagery, choice of words and metaphors. The poem is in Villanelle format which means it has nineteen lines. Dictation and figurative language are important in the poem. This poem urges opposition and rage in the face of death. The repetition of the first and third line resembles a chorus of a song. In effect, the first three lines argue however good death is aged should decline to die lightly, should passionately rave and rage against dying. The first and third line of the poem both indicates the theme of the poem. Thomas used a repetitive form in his message by repeating the critical lines "Do Not go gentle into that good night"(6) and "Rage, rage against dying of the light."(3) The "good night" is a metaphor and a pun rephrased as a "good death." The second line brings together the first and third line. The tone of the first line is gentle while the sound of the third is defiant. In the second stanza, the first line is an example of Thomas reminding the audience that death is unquestionable. Throughout the poem, Thomas defines four types of men, who have lived four different lives, but in the end, all want more of life. In line four the untamed men whose actions have been unforgettable, now must face sorrow and not go gentle into the night. Only in this closing stanza do we realize that the whole poem addressed to the Thomas' father, despite the generalized allegations about past age and the focus upon types of men. Thomas discusses how other people undertake death. Many people take passing in different ways, no matter. Thomas calls upon his father to join men raging against dying. In conclusion, Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into the Night” implies that you should

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