Do Not Go Gentle Into That Night

3 Pages 782 Words

We all know that death will be out 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.
There are several ways that imagery is used in the poem to develop the meaning of the poem. First of all, Thomas conveys resistance towards death with images of fury and fighting, as in “do not go gentle.” With images of “good night” and “dying in 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” show a sense of anger and rage. Contrasting images of light and darkness in the poem create 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 mean have not used their blinding sight.” Thomas tells his dying father that all mean 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.
Using for examples of men; wise, good, wild, and grave, he illustrates a universal idea. The four individuals have reached the final end of their lives prematurely. Thomas provokes these men into wanting more time and desiring the courage to fight back against the ...