Analysis of the Poem Do Not Get Gentle into That Good Night
Dylan Thomas wrote the poem titled Do Not Get Gentle into That Good Night in 1951. It is one of the most popular and well-known poems by Thomas. It is dedicated it to his dying father. Therefore, the main theme of the poem is death. Yet the poem goes beyond the classical understanding of death. It is full of feelings, full of energy and even “gives a sense of rising hysteria” (Kendry).Thomas uses a special poetic form of villanelle for his work. This form contains two repeating rhymes (night/light/right and so on) and this repetition helps the author to create the furious tone of the poem. Dylan Thomas writes about death. His father is dying and author wants to create a poem in his honor. But it is not about the calm death, patience and humility. It is not about the Catholic ideal of death. The poet wants his father to resist the process of dying. Two repeating lines “do not go gentle into that good night” and “rage against the dying of the light” (256) are lines of protest and fight. Individuals, who lived a good life should fight till the end, writes Thomas in his poem.
Though this poem was written more than 60 years ago it is still famous and can be interesting for the contemporary readers. It illustrates the human willingness to live, the inner resistance to death that is natural for every person. Besides, it can be an advice not to give up and continue the action even if the loss is predictable. The life should be viewed as a struggle and a person should accept challenges of life and to overcome obstacles and not to lose heart until the very end.
Works Cited
Kendry, Melanie. “Analysis of 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night' by Dylan Thomas - Get Meaning, Interpretation and Quotes.” ATeacherWrites.Com, 22 May 2013. Web. <http://englishtutorhome2.blogspot.com/2013/05/analysis-of-do-not-go-gentle-into-that.html>
Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. Print
