Fight Until The Very End

            “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” is an inspiring and emotional poem written by Dylan Thomas. The poem is a Villanelle which means that it’s a nineteen-line form of poetry. The speaker of the poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is communicating his frustration that comes with simply giving up when one is dying. As we all know death is inevitable but instead of simply letting death happen the speaker of the poem urges everyone to fight until the very end. This poem speaks to everyone because death is a universal tragedy but in this poem he is specifically talking to his dying father as stated in the book Poetry for Students " 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,' is a moving plea to his dying father". By using frequent and consistent repetition and poetic devices Dylan Thomas succeeds in the powerful communication of the poems theme about fighting against death until the very end. The poems repetition and poetic devices help the theme develop. The tone and repetition of certain words bring the poem to life and create an emotional connection with the reader and helps deliver the theme even stronger. 

“Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a \Villanelle with five three-line stanzas and one four line stanza. The first five stanzas have a rhyme of an A-B-A format and the last stanza has a rhyme scheme of A-B-A-A. Dylan Thomas used poetic devices, such as repetition, lyrical tone, and similes to exemplify the theme. For example, the phrase “Do not go gentle into that good night” (Thomas 1) is repeated four times in the entire poem. The use of repetition shows the urgency in the speaker’s message about not dying without a fight. I think that the phrase not only reminds you of the prominent message or theme but it also shows very deep and personal emotions. The poem has a lyrical tone to it in the sense that it expresses and evokes personal emotions. The tone in the speakers words such as in the phrase “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Thomas 3) shows and gives the feeling of urgency and desperation of the message that the speaker is trying to get across to his dying father. Thomas also uses several similes such as the one shown in the phrase “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,” (Thomas 14). Thomas uses “meteors” to describe what “blind eyes”(Thomas 14) could look like. The use of similes in the poem help the reader paint a clearer picture of what the speaker is saying. The poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” evokes intense emotions from the reader, by using repetition and a variety of poetic devices.

The meaning that the speaker is trying to communicate through this poem is that death although inevitable can be defeated, but the only way that it can be defeated is by retaliating and fighting for your life rather than simply accepting that fact that you’re going to die and dying in a “gentle” manner. When the speaker says “Do not go gentle into that good night,” he is urging his father to stay strong and is also communicating to him that if it is his time to die then he should die the same way that he entered this world, which was kicking and screaming. From the moment that a woman starts going into labor the child that is about to be born is fighting to live. When a baby comes into this world it fights in whatever way possible, the baby will scream and kick. The speaker in the same way is telling his father to fight when he says “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray/ Do not go gentle into that good night” (Thomas 17-18) the speaker is telling his father to do anything even if it means cursing him out or crying but to not simply go quietly without a fight. The emotions in the last stanza are immense and the reader is able to capture the hurt, pain, sadness, and desperation of the speaker as he talks to his dying father.

The speaker talks about four different men in his poem to show the universal relevance of his theme. By using the four men that are described in the middle stanzas the speaker is delivering the message to his father by showing him examples of great men. who were smart enough to realize that death isn't unbeatable. All the men described are very different and have succeeded in many ways during their life so far. First, he talks about wise men who understand that knowledge and intelligence aren’t the cores meaning of their lives “Though wise men at their end know dark is right. . . ” (Thomas 4) He then talks about good men who become conscious that their good deeds won’t define their identity “Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright. . . “(Thomas 7) The poet brings up the third men, who are wild “Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight. . .” (Thomas 10)  Finally, grave men are exemplified in the fifth stanza “Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight/ Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay.” (Thomas 13-14) Even though all four men described lived completely distinct lives and did great things while they were young in the end the speaker is indicating that their success doesn’t mean anything if they die without a fight. The speaker is trying to tell his father that they fought while they were young and healthy and did great things as well but if they gave up in the end when death was near then their entire life meant nothing which is why he constantly and urgently pleas with his dad to fight until the very end.

Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is a great and very emotional poem. The poetic devices that Thomas used in the poem really helps speak to his audience. This poem is a lyrical type of poem in the sense that it evokes personal emotion from the speaker which transcends into the reader as well. The theme of death is universal and this poem does a great job of showing that. Thomas makes it clear that even though death is inevitable it is urgent that we understand that death does not defeat us. We live our entire lives fighting to make ourselves into successful and great people so at the time of our death we should still continue to fight as Thomas says through the poems speaker “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” (Thomas 18-19)

                                                                           Work cited

Philip K. Jason College Literature, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Spring, 1980), pp. 136-145

        Published by: College Literature Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25111324

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night." Poetry for Students, 1 (1998): 49-60.