Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night

by Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night
Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night ,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day ;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light .
Though wise men at their end know dark is right ,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night .
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay ,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light .
ild men who caught and sang the sun in flight ,
!nd learn, too late, they grieved it on its way ,
Do not go gentle into that good night .
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could bla"e like meteors and be gay ,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light .
!nd you, my father, there on the sad height ,
#urse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, $ %ray .
Do not go gentle into that good night .
Rage, rage against the dying of the light .
After his father's death, he wrote this poem.
He was speaking to him as if his father was alive.
Gentle : his father sufered from weakness and
sikness. He asked his father to resist and stand
against.
!ight: is sym"ol of death.
Good night: good "ye night.
He is famous at villanelle whih he used also into this
poem.
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Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
Paraphrase
First stanza
Do not go gentle into that good night ,
#ld age should "urn and rave at lose of day ;
$age, rage against the dying of the light .
The speaker asks his father to resist and to stand against
these moments of weakness. He gives him a piee of
advie asking him to hold on to his life and to be f!rio!s
when he is abo!t to die. To the speaker, old people m!st
be f!rio!s and attak "erely and strongly and above all
be stik of this life .
Second stanza :
Though wise men at their end know dark is right ,
%eause their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night .
#ise men when they are abo!t to die ,they know $!ite
well that dark%% whih represents death %% is right, nat!ral,
and inevitable bea!se they believe that their
ahievements in life annot help the soiety in whih they
live forward and forward .
Third stanza
Good men, the last wave "y, rying how "right
Their frail deeds might have daned in a green "ay ,
$age, rage against the dying of the light .
The honest men and good men when they want to live
longer and longer to set good e&amples for the
individ!als in their soiety .
Forth stanza
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Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
&ild men who aught and sang the sun in 'ight ,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way ,
Do not go gentle into that good night .
'ad or wild men are $!ite sad when they are abo!t to
die. They learn to late that they are abo!t to leave the
s!nny side of life ,never en(oyed before. )ather ,they !sed
to live in the shade .They are f!rio!s and stik to this life
whih they have lost all their life long .
Fifth stanza
Grave men, near death, who see with "linding sight
%lind eyes ould "la(e like meteors and "e gay ,
$age, rage against the dying of the light .
*erio!s and grave men when they are abo!t to die, ome
to reali+e very learly that they o!ld have lived a
passionate life f!ll of f!n. This is why they are f!rio!s and
hold on to this life when they are abo!t to die .
, )n the phrase * see with "linding light+, *"linding+
means very "right light. %ut *"lind+ in the ne,t line
refers to eyes that had failed to see the -oyful and
passionate side of life, the eyes of *grave+ or over
serious men.
,
Sixth stanza(the conclusion )
And you, my father, there on the sad height ,
.urse, "less, me now with your /ere tears, ) pray .
Do not go gentle into that good night .
$age, rage against the dying of the light .
The speaker is speaking to his father when he is on the
death bed asking him to !rse him or to bless him. He
asking him to !rse bea!se o!t of (ealo!sy , he is dead
and the son is alive. -lso he is asking him to bless him d!e
to his stane .
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Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
This poem is a strong emotional appeal to show how
muh son is a feared ,respetive , and deeply loved
his father.
0orm
This poem ontains ./ lines .
This poem is divided into 0 triplets ( teret) pl!s a $!atrain
at the end.
1t has a spei" rhyme sheme at the end ( aba abaa ).
1t annot keep the iambi from start to the end.
The "rst line in the "rst triplet 2 Do not go gentle into
that good night2 is repeated as the third line in *t. 2,3,
4.
The third line in the third triplet 2 $age, rage against
the dying of the light2 is repeated as the "nal line in *t.
5,0 and 4.
This poem is given into two end so!nds 6ait6 and 6 ei 6.
This poem is systemati. The introd!tion is optional and
3 e&amples are given from 2 to 0.
Tones 7
In the frst and sixth stanza the tone is
advisable ,furious and conversional. "h!""
o 1t is onversional bea!se the son is the speaker
and the father is the addressee.
o 1t is advisable bea!se of the !se of imperative
verb in negation whih e&presses a piee of
advie .
o 1t is a f!rio!s bea!se all the people m!st die at
the end and they m!st be angry when they are
abo!t to die .
In the second stanza, the tone is disappointed
The wise men are ompletely disappointed bea!se
their deeds in life are not eno!gh to help their
soiety .
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Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
In the third stanza , the tone is sad
8ea!se the honest men%s deeds are not s!9ient to
make them good e&ample for others.
In the forth stanza , a re#retful tone is used in
order to re:et how wild or mad men feel sorry for
losing the s!nny side of life and for living in the
shade for long .
In the ffth stanza, a hope$ losin# tone is used
bea!se serio!s men will be hopeless that they o!ld
have lived a passionate life f!ll of f!n .
Ideas :
.. )esist to the illness and "ght it.
2. ;o one sho!ld give !p his life witho!t "ght.
5. People sho!ld set good e&amples for others.
3. Do yo!r best to help yo!r soiety in whih yo! live.
0. Do not forget that life is delightf!l and preio!s .
1anguage
.. -s sine this poem is a modern poem , its style is
simple, diret and<<<<<<.. 1t is lose to o!r
spoken lang!age.
2. *ome strange image are !sed. =.g. the main
images are >night? representing death and >light?
representing life.
5. The !se of en(ambment as sine as eah stan+a is
onsidered as one long sentene.
3. 1t is prose,like . in spite of the fat that some lines
an keep the iambi beat. - good e&ample is st..
0. He makes reo!rse to some mono,syllabi words.
@or e&ample, A.2 *t..
4. The style is repetitive bea!se omplete lines are
repeated.
, The "rst line in the "rst triplet 2 Do not go
gentle into that good night2 is repeated as the
third line in *t. 2,3, 4.
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Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
, The third line in the third triplet 2 $age, rage
against the dying of the light2 is repeated as
the "nal line in *t. 5,0 and 4.
B. 1mperative verb is !sed in order to give a piee of
advie.
C. The style is emotional and onversional bea!se
the speaker is e&pressing his emotions and
feelings when his father was abo!t to die. He is
speaking to his father as if he was present.
/. 1t is modern it an not keep the iambi from start
to the end .1t is written in systemati form , the
"rst line in eah stan+a an stand as the topi
sentene.
Themes 7
The son$father relationship%
The entire poem is an appeal to his father to stay
alive and to bless his son at the end. He asks his
father not to die politely. )ather he wants his father
to !rse his illness and "ght it.
&ll of us 'ust stand a#ainst and resist death7
The poem is a passionate all to people to "ght
death. The poem simply says >don?t die?. ;o one
sho!ld give !p his or her life witho!t a "ght. The
poem s!pports a sort of spirit!al rebellion against
death. Dse the points in the s!mmary of the poem
to develop this as the main theme of the poem.
(ife is )o!ful, en)o!able and precious:
'any images and words in the poem s!ggest that
life is delightf!l *t.5 A.2, *t.0 A.2. The idea that yo!r
eyes >o!ld bla+e like meteors and be gay? s!ggests
that life is energeti and happy. The image of
daning in a green bay s!ggests the bea!ty of the
world we live in.
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Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
0igure of speeh 7
*etaphor
, 2t. 3 , 1.3 , >good night+ is ompared to death.
, *t.. A.5, >light+ is ompared to life.
, St.1, L.2 Close of day is compared to death.
, St.2 L.1 dark is compared to death.
, *t.2 A.2 words had forked no lightning
&ords are ompared to the a!se of forked
lightning.
1ightning is ompared to attention, the words
had reeived no attention.
, 2t.4 1.3 '&ild men who aught and sang the sun in 'ight% .
1mplied omparison of ahievement to athing the "re of
the s!n and to singing tri!mphantly.
, *t. 4 A.., He ompares his father?s sik bed to a 'sad
height%, a tomb.
, frail deeds might have daned.
,
Personifcation7 frail deeds might have daned.
Si'ile7 5"lind eyes ould "la(e like meteors 2 =yes
f!ll of passion and ra+ed with f!n are >like meteors?
or b!rning rok from o!ter spae.
+ontrast Thomas ontrasts death to life, night to
light, !rse to bless.
,xa##eration%
, 2t.4 1.3 '&ild men who aught and sang the sun in 'ight% .
1mplied omparison of ahievement to athing the "re of
the s!n and to singing tri!mphantly.
, St.4 L.2 they grieved it on its way is also exaggeration .
1t refers to the realism of their own mortality. They grieve
bea!se they have a!sed m!h grief living their lives in
folly. =ven tho!gh the end is approahing, they will not
give in bea!se they want more time to hold on to the
advent!re of their yo!th and perhaps right a few wrongs
that they have done.
Paradox *t.0 A.. Thomas asks his father to >!rse,
bless, me?. Thomas imagines that grave or serio!s
men on their deathbed see too late what they had
been blind to !p !ntil then7 ?see too late with blinding
light?. The speaker believes that old men at the
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Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
moment of death an see what they are blind to see
all their long life.
6usi 7
The !se of the rhyme sheme whih goes as aba
abaa.
The trace of the ia'bic beat .
=&ept for the seond line of *tan+a 0, eah line in the poem
has ten syllables ("ve feet).
Do NOT..|..go GEN..|..tle IN..|..to THAT..|..good NIGHT.......(Iambic pentameter)
Old AGE..|..should B!N..|..and !A"E..|..at #$O%E..|..o& DA'
The use of repetition. Two key lines are repeated
three times eah in the poem.
The use of alliteration. go, good (*t. .); though,
their (*t. 2); deeds, daned (*t. 5) sang, sun (*t. 3);
learn, late (*t. 3); see, sight (*t. 0); "linding, "lind,
"la(e (*t. 0).
The use of assonance. long >a? so!nds in >)age,
)age, against?, long >i? so!nds in >dying of the light?.
age, rave, day (*t. .); "la(e, gay, rage (*t. 0) E
The use of sibilance. The fo!r >s? so!nds in >F!rse,
bless me now with yo!r "ere tears? reate m!si
and a mi&t!re of tender and angry feelings.
,xtra %
Fi#ure of speech%
-x!'oron%
, good night (*tan+a .). Good death is
o&ymoroni if one does not view death as good.
, "linding sight (*tan+a 0)
, /ere tears (*tan+a 4)
S!'bol
, Thomas !ses the image of "urning to represent
the attit!de that the old sho!ld have against
losing their life.
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Poem (2) Do not go gentle into that good night
by Dylan Thomas
, He !ses the image of >their words had forked no
lightening? to mean that they hadn?t hanged
the world or made an impat.
, Thomas !ses a pit!re of the sun 'ying aross
the sky to stand for the energeti life of wild
men.
, He !ses meteors to stand for "ere and
o!trageo!s en(oyment of life.
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