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When Dylan Thomas wrote his famous villanelle, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” in 1952, the poet’s father was on his death bed. Philip K. Jason argues that poets often choose the villanelle form as it allows them to have the “simple delicacy of touch in handling a variety of themes” (136). It has been said that the poem was “written during his father’s illness” (“Dylan Thomas” par. 26). The poem appears to be a desperate attempt at convincing his father to do all that he can to fight against the inevitable occurrence of his death. Indeed, Thomas uses the poem as an exhortation to his father to “affirm life in his dying” (“Dylan Thomas” par. 26). Marc Cyr mentions that the poem explores the theme of the “attitudes towards how one lives in the face of impending death” (208). It is also interesting to note the literary devices or elements used in the poem. These literary devices include the following: pun, alliteration, repetition and light and dark imagery. Therefore, it can be argued that Thomas uses the literary devices of pun, alliteration, repetition and light and dark imagery in order to treat the theme of having a fighting attitude in the “face of impending death” (Cyr 208).
Thomas employs the use of puns to emphasize the theme of the individual fighting in the “face of impending death” (Cyr 208). This is evident in the first line of the poem, which states the following: “Do not go gentle into that good night” (l. 1). The term “good night” appears to have two meanings. One connoted meaning of the term is connected to finality or an end such as death while the other meaning is similar to a farewell or goodbye message. Therefore, when interpreting the use of the term “good night” it is implied that the persona within the poem is giving the message to the reader that a person, when facing death, should not easily succumb to the throes of death. The persona appears to be saying that one needs not easily bid farewell to life even in the very face of death. Thomas uses another pun in the following line: “Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight/Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (l. 13). The word “[g]rave” can be interpreted as serious when used as an adjective, as it is in the above mentioned line. However, the word “[g]rave” also alludes to the tomb, which is connected to the image of death. Hence, it can be inferred that the persona of the poem is indicating that serious men or men who were closed to being buried in a grave did not simply accept the fate of death, but fought and raged against it.
While reading the poem, it is clear that Thomas uses alliteration in highlighting the theme of fighting against the inevitability of death. For example, the poet writes the following: “Do not go gentle into that good night” (ll. 1, 6, 12 & 18). In addition, Thomas writes the following line: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (ll. 3, 9, 15, 19). The repetition of the guttural ‘g’ sound found in the first line produces an explosive sound when pronounced with the short ‘o’ sounds. This explosive sound creates the effect of a struggle or fight, thereby emphasizing the idea being conveyed by the poet that one need not yield to the throes of death, but fight or struggle against it. The repetition of the ‘r’ sound with the long ‘a’ sound allows the line to be more fluid and easier to pronounce when spoken aloud. This fluidity of the line suggests that it is easier for a person to resist the desire to die and to continue to live his life so that he can accomplish what he was unable to in the past rather than to give in to the throes of death.
Thomas relies on the repetition of words in his treatment of the theme, but also the repetition of key phrases. For example, the poet repeats the word “men” is repeated in the fourth, seventh, tenth and the thirteenth lines. The poet repeats men in order to emphasize the “four classes” of men as in “wise men” (l. 4), “[g]ood men” (l. 7), “[w]ild men” (l. 10) and “[g]rave men” (l. 13) (Westphal 144). In doing this, Thomas is attempting to show that persons from various backgrounds do their best to struggle against impending death. In addition, the poet repeats the phrase “Do not go gentle into that good night” in lines one, six, twelve and eighteen. Moreover, Thomas repeats the phrase “Rage, rage against the dying light” in lines three, nine, fifteen and nineteen. The repetition of these phrases gives the effect of urgency as the persona is exhorting the subject of the poem to do whatever is possible to struggle against the throes of death.
The writer employs the use of light and dark imagery so as to create contrast between life and vitality, and death and resignation. For instance, Thomas writes the following: “Do not go gentle into that good night [my emphasis], / Old age should burn and rave at close of day [my emphasis]” (ll. 1-2). The image of “night” is being connected to death while “day” is being connected to life. Furthermore, the poet writes the following: “Though wise men at their end know dark [my emphasis] is right, / Because their words had forked no lightning [my emphasis] they/ Do not go gentle into that good night [my emphasis]” (ll. 4-6). It can be argued that in this case the light imagery (which is represented by “lightning”) not only means life, but also vitality. In addition, dark not only represents death, but also resignation to the inevitable fate of death. Therefore, it is implied by the above lines that the poet is conveying the message that “wise men” who are aware that it is there time to die is “right” still refuse to accept or be resigned to their fate since they were unable to produce “words” that life or vitality in them when they were not on their death beds.
In conclusion, Thomas uses the villanelle form to treat the theme of maintaining a fighting attitude even while one’s death bed. The poet uses the elements of puns, alliteration, repetition, and light and dark imagery to emphasize this theme. It was easy to emotionally connect to the poem because the use of the literary devices was effective in underscoring the point that an individual should not be resigned to his fate. In fact, an individual should do whatever he can through the sheer force of his will to continue to live until he can accomplish what he always had intended in his heart to do.
Works Cited
Cyr, Marc. “Dylan Thomas's ‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night’ : Through ‘Lapis Lazuli’ to King Lear.” Papers on Language and Literature, 34.2 (1998): 207-17. ProQuest. Web. 29 February 2016.
“Dylan Thomas.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/dylan-thomas>.
Jason, Philip K. “Modern Versions of the Villanelle.” College Literature, 7.2 (Spring, 1980): 136-145. JSTOR. Web. 29 February 2016.
Thomas, Dylan. “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et al. Vol. F. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. 2703. Print.
Westphal, Jonathan. “Thomas’s ‘Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night.’” Explicator, 52.2 (Winter, 1994): 113-15. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 9 April 2013.
