Strategies to Interpret the Difficult Poem "Do Got Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

869 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Death in poetry

Analyzing the poem Do Got Go Gentle into That Good Night, by Dylan Thomas, was multifaceted. This well known poem leaves the reader a complex message within six stanzas, each getting closer to death. For example, the poem can be split into three parts ending in a personal message. The first stanza of the poem is considered the introduction. The next four stanzas give examples on how the speaker is feeling. The last stanza, the personal message, is directed towards the speaker’s father. Literary strategies allow the reader to interpret and give meaning to a poem that can be difficult to interpret. In Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, the passionate poem by Dylan Thomas, specific details containing several literary strategies such as imagery, metaphors, and syntax which explores the growing old process and moving towards death.

Imagery, according to The Seagull Reader, is the basic building block of just about any poem (Joseph xxxi). It allows the reader to understand what the author is trying to interpret through images. In Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night; Dylan Thomas uses a variety of imagery to analyze the moving toward the end of life. For example, the use of light and dark is used throughout the poem. In stanzas one, three, five, and six, the phrase “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” brings about the images of brightness, light, and life (Thomas 313). Darkness is used in the second stanza specifically in the phrase “Though wise men at their end know dark is right” to give the imagery, of possibly an old man, that is accepting death is near (Thomas 313). Death is another imagery that is brought up in Dylan Thomas’s poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night. In the fifth stanza Grave men are used to depict...

... middle of paper ...

...is body and its relationship with the universe; he became obsessed with the passage of time and the finality of death” (Lycett, Andrew). In Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night literary strategies are used to help depict the coming of death. It also uses strategies that persuade the readers that we must live life and fight for what we have to live for. Dylan Thomas uses specifically imagery, metaphors, and syntax to show his obsession with death. According to the Literary Cavalcode, Dylan Thomas also uses a rhyming couplet with the rhyme schemer being ABA to enhance the meaning of his poem. Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night is considered to be a villanelle. The Seagull Reader states that a villanelle is “a poem of five tercets and quatrain using just two rhymes. The first and third line of the first tercet are repeated throughout the other stanzas (Joseph 420).

Show More
Related

  • Poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

    350 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," written by Dylan Thomas, emphasizes resistance towards death as he repeats this exhortation in the last line in every stanza. Imagery is used by Thomas to create the theme of his poem and what it means. Although readers are unaware of the details behind the on coming death of Thomas father, the motives of the author for writing this poem are very obvious. Thomas intends to pursuit his father to resist against death and for him to fight for life. Through "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," Thomas conveys resistance towards death with images of fury and fighting to symbolize the great anger and rage Thomas feels towards the thought of loosing his dying father, though upon first reading then seem banal.

    Read More

  • Comparing Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night and After a Time

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" and Catherine Davis' "After a Time" demand comparison: Davis' poem was written in deliberate response to Thomas'. Davis assumes the reader's familiarity with "Do Not Go Gentle," which she uses to articulate her contrasting ideas. "After a Time," although it is a literary work in its own right, might even be thought of as serious parody--perhaps the greatest compliment one writer can pay another.

    Read More

  • Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dylan Thomas sets the tone of his iconic poem with the title, which is also one of the recurring lines in the poem. When the speaker says “Do not go gentle into that good night”(1,6,12,18), he is saying that you should not peacefully accept death. In most cases, many people would consider a peaceful death as good of a death as there can be, but Thomas urges the reader to not accept it. While it may seem like an odd stance, one must consider that towards the end of the poem we learn the speaker is speaking to his father. In context of the poem, this is someone struggling to accept that his father is dying therefore he is begging his father to also not accept it. Another way Dylan Thomas is able to not only reinforce the defiant tone, but also reinforce the central message, is his repetition of critical

    Read More

  • literature

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    Dylan Thomas wrote the poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” It is about a son’s plea to his father who is approaching death. Two lines are repeated in the poem and addressed directly to the father. These lines structure the first stanza and collaborate as a couplet in the last. They are repeated a lot but each time, they have different meanings: statements, pleas, commands, or petitions. Repetition and rhyme scheme are parts of prosody in poetry. The rhyme scheme is built on two rhymes and forms of a pattern. The two rhymes are night and day and the pattern is aba, and in the last stanza, abaa. Even though the poem seems to have too much repetition, the fascinating imagery is more important and readers pay more attention to that instead.

    Read More

  • Ally Condie's Novel Matched Trilogy

    1834 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thomas, Dylan. “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” Poemhunter.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Life and Death in Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle and Frost's Stopping by Woods

    2063 Words  | 5 Pages

    "Do Not Go Gentle" is an emotional plea to Dylan's aging father to stay alive and fight death, without altering his individualism. In other words, Dylan wants his father to take his life into his own hands and control his own destiny. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas 2570), a line that is repeated throughout the poem, best su...

    Read More

  • Welsh Poetry Comparison and Analysis

    2230 Words  | 5 Pages

    The strict rhyming scheme gives the poem a strong rhythm and a determined, inflexible pace, and as a result, the poem exudes a sense of insuperability in the face of death. The repetitiveness of the rhyming lends an imploring tone to the poem and as such represents Thomas' genuine intent - to advocate (to his father) the subjugation of death, as confirmed by the theme of the poem. Throughout the poem, "night" is used as a metaphor for death. This comparison is apt to the extent that both are regarded with fear and apprehension, feelings also associated with darkness, which is also used, as a metaphor for death. The "night", however, is referred to as being a "good nig... ...

    Read More

  • Traveling Through The Dark Poem Analysis

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    To understand a poem you have to know the setting, the poem’s persona, the tone, the kind of situation that is occurring throughout the poem, and you have to know the clear message of the poem, if there is one. In “Traveling Through the Dark” these five key details are presented to the readers. The poem’s persona is the narrator himself. The narrator is

    Read More

  • Comparing Death in Do not go gentle into that good night and Death Be Not Proud

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Death Be Not Proud" both deal with the subject of death. These poems seem to have contradictory messages about death, yet at the same time have similar attitudes toward it. "Death Be Not Proud" talks about how death really has no power over people, while "Do not go gentle into that good night" says that it is part of human nature to fight against death.

    Read More

  • Compare Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night And Because I Could Not Wait For Death

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thomas presents death to us using a metaphor, he describes death as being “that good night” and thus makes death seem as something unknown, unseen, and unfamiliar. The portrayal of death as “that good night” suggests that death is like night time, dark and with a sense of unfamiliarity. This causes us to begin seeing death as something that we should fear and avoid or be cautious of. The first of line of the poem, “Do not go gentle into that good night” is an ironic contradiction, as it seems strange that we should not go gentle into something that is good. However, the next line of the poem which says “Old age should burn and rave at close of day”, makes it apparent that the previous line should be taken connotatively and that phrases like “go gentle and “good night” are symbolic of the dying process. When old age is mentioned in the poem in that line it makes us aware that death is imminent. References about day and night are also symbolic of life and death. Dickinson makes strong contradictions between old age and raging against death, as it is typically accepted that after a long and fruitful life, old age would prefer a gentle slip into a peaceful welcomed death. However, Thomas says otherwise, he advocates that old age should not give into the ease and comfort of death, and should instead

    Read More

  • Concept Of Death in ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night versus ‘Because I Could Not Stop For Death

    1176 Words  | 3 Pages

    The poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death?by Emily Dickinson is composed of six quatrains; four-line stanzas. All the odd number lines are written in iambic tetrameter and have eight syllables. Meanwhile, all the even number lines are written in iambic trimeter and have six syllables. The alternating lengths of the meters (eight and six syllables) resemble a falling stream of water, allowing nature (death) to take it to wherever nature desires to. Dickinson structures her poem to present her theme of accepting death calmly and willingly. On the other hand, the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night?by Dylan Thomas is a form of villanelle with two important refrains; "Do Not Go Gentl...

    Read More

  • Do not go gentle into that good night

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dylan Thomas' poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" is about a son’s bereavement and the acceptance of his father dying. Thomas knows death is inevitable, therefore, he uses persuasion to get his father to "rage, rage against the dying of the light” (Line 3). Villanelle poems require two repeating rhyme schemes. Thomas helps the reader visualize dark and light. : “Wise men… know dark is right” (4). “Wild men… sang the sun in flight/do not go gentle into that good night” (10,12). “Eyes…blaze like meteors” (14).

    Read More

  • New Criticism of Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

    691 Words  | 2 Pages

    When discussing the different aspects of New Criticism in Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle into The Good Night”, the impression that comes to mind is death. The use of imagery was a necessity for Dylan Thomas to express the different techniques of writing which involved a mixture of surrealistic and metaphysical tones. His ability to change a words meaning to incorporate symbolism is noticeable in circle of unity from life to death and renewed life.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Death In Poetry

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people find it hard to imagine their death as there are so many questions to be answered-how will it happen, when, where and what comes next. The fact that our last days on Earth is unknown makes the topic of death a popular one for most poets who looks to seek out their own emotions. By them doing that it helps the reader make sense of their own emotions as well. In the two poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Emily Dickenson and “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, the poets are both capturing their emotion about death and the way that they accepted it. In Dickenson’s poem her feelings towards death are more passionate whereas in Dylan’s poem the feelings

    Read More

  • Struggle to Cope with Death in Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    Struggle to Cope with Death in Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Poetry requires more than just a verse. It must appeal to your mind and generate emotion. It should be constructed in a way that appears simple, yet is intricate in every detail. Dylan Thomas's poem, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night is a brilliant poem that appears so simple, yet upon looking closer its complexity can be seen. Dylan Thomas was born on October 27, 1914 in Swansea, Wales.

    Read More

More about Strategies to Interpret the Difficult Poem "Do Got Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

Open Document