Overview

• ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Night’ was written by Dylan Thomas in 1945, when his father D. J Thomas was seriously ill.

• The poem is a protest against the idea of accepting death quietly.

• It discusses the various ways to approach death in old age and advocates struggling against death until the last breath.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

• It is a strong invocation for us to live boldly and to fight. It implores us to not just "go gentle into that good night," but to rage against it.

• Even at the end of life, when "grave men" are near death, the poem instructs us to burn with life.

• The poem's meaning is life affirming.

• (A1) refrain 1 Line 2 (b)

(A2) refrain 2• Line 4 (a)

Line 5 (b)(A1) refrain 1

• Line 7 (a)Line 8 (b)(A2) refrain 2

• Line 10 (a)Line 11 (b)(A1) refrain 1

• Line 13 (a)Line 14 (b)(A2) refrain 2

• Line 16 (a)Line 17 (b)(A1) refrain 1(A2) refrain 2

• Here the letters “a” and “b” denote two rhyming sounds, while “A” indicates refrain and the numerals 1 and 2 denote refrain 1 and refrain 2 respectively.

Function of Villanelle

• Villanelle is divided into three segments. The first segment is called the introduction. The second is called the development and the third is called the conclusion.

• Villanelle builds up the intensity and tone of a poem.

• The poet’s use of this form is ironic because villanelles were first made to be lighthearted

Symbolism:The poem, ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’ has the following symbolisms-* ‘Night’ in the poem symbolizes death* ‘Burn and rave’ are frequently associated with the passion of youth; here the poet wants the elderly to live passionately.* ‘Close of day’ symbolizes approaching death* ‘blaze like meteors’ symbolize living life with full intensity.* ‘Sad height’ symbolizes closeness to death

Alliteration:

*Do not go gentle into that good night*Rage, rage …*..blinding sight/ Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay

*sang the sun

Simile:• ‘Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay’(Even though they are old and going blind, they still

have power over how they die)Imagery: • “because their words had forked no lightning they

do not gentle into that good night”Personification:

“caught and sang the sun”“old age should burn and rave”“their frail deeds might have danced in the bay”

Metaphor

– good night is a metaphorical expression of death. The first 3 lines are metaphorical as night, close of day and dying of the light all refer to death.

…and many more ^_~

Oxymoron:• An oxymoron is a paradox in which two terms

of ordinary usage are contraries and conjoined.• “Curse, bless” is an example of oxymoron in

the poem. The poet is asking his father to ‘bless’ as well as ‘curse’ him.

• “blinding sight” --dying men who have gone blind can still see” (at least in a metaphorical sense—see using their wisdom rather than their eyes)

Parallelism:– The poem has the use of parallelism by describing the actions

of four different kind of men, ‘wise men’, ‘good men’, ‘wild men’ and ‘grave men.’ The speaker wants his father to have the qualities of these men.

– The poem uses parallelism as the actions of the different types of men are listed. Each of these four stanzas begins by listing the type of men in question, then describing something amazing that that group of men have done. The speaker ends each by reminding the reader that these men won't let themselves die without a struggle.

Contrasts: The poet has used a number of

contrasts in the poem to highlight its theme. They are as follows-*gentle and rage*night and day*light and dark*blind and sight*curse and bless

PUN on “grave” –

very serious and dying

REFRAIN• Refrain 1: do not go gentle into that good night

Refrain 2: rage, rage against the dying of the light

*alternate repetition of lines emphasizing on the main idea of the poem; the poet's message reminding his father not to submit to death but to fight IT every step of the way

* this also stresses the intensity and urgency of the tone of the poem

Stanza 1• The poet is addressing someone to not go gentle into the night. ‘Night’

symbolically represents death. ‘the dying of light’ and ‘end of day’ shows that death is nearing.

• The poet is using night as a metaphor for death. The span of a day could represent a man’s lifetime, which make the sunset as the moment of death. The poet seems to urge, implore those in old age to fight with some passion and zeal like they had in their youth. He invokes a sense of urgency with the repeated word, ‘rage, rage…’ to not give into death without a fight.

• It starts with an imperative or command creating a sense of urgency • ‘good night’ seems ironic• Contrasts strength of living (burn, rage, rave) with weakness of dying

(dying of the light) • The words ‘rave’ and ‘rage, rage’ bring into play a whirlwind of

emotions such as anger, power, destruction, madness and frustration.

WISE MEN

Stanza 2• The wise men (thinkers, philosophers, sages) know that death is

inevitable. Their desire is to impart their knowledge onto others and they will continue to carry on with the same passion regardless of how it affects people. That is, if they were able to make a difference or not, they do not give up their enlightening of others.

• They don’t give into setbacks but continue to make a difference in the world. They may have not achieved what they set out to do so they aren’t willing to just sit back and welcome death to consume them without a fight. They don’t stop living but surge forward with just as much passion as ever.

• ‘Dark’ is right means death being inevitable as it is a natural process. (dark is another metaphor for death)

• ‘words had forked no lightning’ means they may have not really made much of a mark on the world. The ‘lightning bolt’ may refer to the intensity of passion that may not have yielded intended results. Therefore, they hold on to life till the very end to achieve their goals.

GOOD MEN

Stanza 3• The second type of men he addresses is the ‘good’ men. Good refers

to moralists or men who live an upright life. According to the poet, true goodness is composed of fighting the inevitability of death with all of one’s might and force. They will fight like the waves that rages and breaks upon meeting the shores/ banks/ rocks.

• ‘Last wave’ can be interpreted as the generation of men who are about to die in similar manner of ocean waves that crash against each other.

Metaphors:‘the last wave by’ ---final movement of their life‘how bright their deeds might have danced in a green bay’—they may have done great things if they had not been ‘brought to shore’

• The good men ‘rage’ against their death

WILD MEN

Stanza 4• Wild men—adventurous souls; rebels; who do not obey the

rules• who remain carefree and tries to enjoy to the fullest at the

moment often try forget the impending death. • Personification –“caught and sang the sun”—did impossible

things—beautiful actions • “in flight”—something which cannot remain; brief (the beauty)• “learn too late” that they cannot capture and hold onto the

beauty—transience • “grieved”—wept as if something died—is this metaphorical or

hyperbole?

GRAVE

MEN

Stanza 5• Even grave men, who are serious and grim, when

reaching their death may see with blinding sight yet the little light they have or the flicker of the light can blaze like a meteor…with intensity and force.

• Simile: ‘Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay’

Even though they are old and going blind, they still have power over how they die

• Pun –’grave’ men• Oxymoron: ‘blinding sight”

Stanza 6• Dylan finally addresses the person whom he wrote the poem for—his dying

father! He turns to address his father: “and you, my father..” The poem is PERSONAL rather than abstract as the object of the poem is introduced. **Apostrophe !!

• Dylan’s frustration seeps through the lines as his imploring gains momentum with the refrains in the previous lines culminating in a couplet at the end of the quatrain—reminding his father not to submit to death but fight it every step of the way.

• “sad height”—he is dying/ death is upon him/ closeness of death• Oxymoron: “curse, bless”

He wants his father to be like those men by not giving up whatever the odds and continue to live life to the fullest even if death comes knocking on his door—to not bow down to death but fight it.

• If one has to go—go down raging against the force of death.• His message is to rage on with fiery intensity to fight and live life as long as it

stays and enjoy whatever life has to offer. To continue to live with the same zeal/ passion till his last breath as if there is no tomorrow

THEMES

Theme of Old Age• "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good

Night" is the speaker's exploration of what it means to age closer and closer to an inevitable death, especially if the aging person becomes frail and starts to lose his or her faculties.

• In order to restore power and dignity, the speaker urges the dying to fight their fate and cling tenaciously onto life.

Theme of Family• Spoken by a son to his dying father,

the poem suggests the intensity and power of familial bonds.

• It also works through a reversal of roles – the son, not the father, is giving advice, and the father, not the son, is weak and in need of encouragement and help.

Theme of Mortality and Death• "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good

Night" laments the necessity and inevitability of death, encouraging the aged to rebel against their fate.

• The poem suggests that (to use an old cliché) we should leave this world the way we came in – kicking and screaming, holding on to life for all we're worth.

Theme of Wisdom and Knowledge

• The theme of wisdom and knowledge is shown through the poem beginning with death, it is what everyone knows will happen at one point in their lifetimes.

• Though when death is approaching, one needs to have the knowledge in oneself to know what has made their lives meaningful and to know never to fear death.

Theme of Transience (briefness/ impermanence/ momentariness/ evanescence)

• Transience in the poem causes the speaker a lot of anxiety. It worries him that there are things people might have been able to do in the world if only they had been here longer.

• It bothers him that people live such a short time. • The transience of all things—count the images

and ideas that have a brief existence: ‘meteors’, ‘lightning’, ‘waves’, ‘the sun in flight’

• The ONLY thing that lasts is our heroism—how we lived and how we fought death.

Theme of morality and transcendentalism.• This line laments inevitability and necessity of

death, encouraging the old people to rise up against their death and fate.

• The poet’s voice is arguing that the old people should not consent to die immediately.

• He has linked being alive with passion and deep emotions.

• Thomas’s “good men” and “wise men” resist dying gently, because they could not achieve what they might have achieved in their lives.

• Through the examples of different types of men, the poet affirms the importance of being alive. He believes that they should resist dying, if they have not truly lived their lives.

.

what lesson to take away from this lesson itself?

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Day 3: Questions

• How does the title itself affect the message of the poem?

• What is the tone of the poem? How do you know? Give evidence from the poem to support your view.

• What ideas have been expressed about ‘grave men’ in stanza 5?

• Comment on the poet’s choice of words, use of the villanelle form and poetic devices to reinforce his overall message of the poem.

• What is the speaker’s attitude toward death?• Why do you think Thomas referred to his father’s tears

as both a ‘curse’ and a blessing?• Why did Thomas use the poetic form of ‘parallelism’?

Why did he compare his father to four other types of men?

• One of the themes of the poem is that no one should calmly accept death. What does the poet mean? How has he set the tone of the poem to build up this theme?