Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night- Dylan Thomas ( poem analysis)

A man once said: You're going to go through tough times - that's life. But I say,
'Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.' See the positive in negative events
(Osteen 3). In all kinds of problems, individuals need to see the positivity in them just
like Dylan Thomas did in his poem Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night. This poem
was written in 1951 and the style is a villanelle. In this villanelle many symbols can be
found such as the different times of the day and being bright; with those symbols are the
theme of not giving into death. Similarly, there are many literacy devices in this poem
such as an oxymoron and repetition, and these have to do with the theme of never
giving up. Finally, there is imagery being used in the poem along with the theme of
fighting through issues. Thomas wrote this very exceptional poem for his father who
was dying at the time; he wanted him to fight through death so he could carry on with
his life and continue to leave a mark.
There are many symbols that can be associated with the theme of not giving into
death. Thomas used time during a day to represent the life-span of a person; when it is
sunrise it is the beginning of their life, and when it is sunset it is near the end of their life
therefore when dark comes death arrives: Though wise men at their end know dark is
right (Thomas 4). In this quote the speaker refers to dark which is right after sunset
when the sun meaning life is gone, when the sun leaves dark comes which can be
seen as death itself. This quote is introducing a type of men who fight for their life. The
wise men know that death is inevitable, and that it is the cycle of life, but this does not
mean that they cannot fight to make their lives a bit longer. Another symbol is
brightness, such as burning or fire. When and individual thinks of the dark, they will
associate it with wanting something bright such as fire to be guided and feel secure.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day (Thomas 2). In this quote Thomas used
the word burn which is related to something bright. Since darkness represents death,
brightness will represent life. What the speaker was trying to convey in this line was that
old people have to be full of life or bright so death or darkness does not take over
and win. Thomas used various symbols to give out a message to the readers that they
have to fight with all their strength against death.
Consequently, another very frequent element found in this poem that helps us
analyze it better is literacy devices. These are found throughout the poem and some tie
in with the theme of never giving up when in trouble. In the poem, Thomas adds
oxymoron which then he uses to hide a truth between those two contradictory words.
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray (Thomas 17). In this quote the
words curse and bless: are very contradictory, but there is a truth hiding. Death can
either be seen as a curse to some people such as Thomas or it can be a blessing to
others. Not only that, but in the poem this line seems more like a plea to his father. He

does not care if his father curses him or blesses him as long as he is doing something
other than dying Thomas does not care; he wants his father to persevere. In addition to
oxymorons there is also a lot of repetition in the poem, when a line is repeated it means
that the author wants to put emphasize on that line or word. Do not go gentle into that
good night (Thomas 1). Not only is this line the title of the poem, but it is also repeated
in line 1, 6, 12, 18. This line is seen at the beginning of stanzas or the end, the reader
gets a feeling that when it is in the first line of the stanza it is a command. When this line
is at the end it is like a concluding line, like once again a plea. Thomas wants readers to
focus on this line because it is a summary of the poem; he does not want people to die
without a fight, he wants people like his father to persevere. In this poem, Thomas has
many other literacy devices to help the reader understand the theme of never giving up
when in trouble
Finally, Thomas included a lot of imagery in his poem to help the reader visualize
the depth of the poem and the emotional aura it gives, these tie in with the theme of
fighting through issues. In the poem we can see that he uses the scenario of a bay.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright their frail deeds might have danced in a
green bay (Thomas 7-8). This quote wants us to visualize a wave that will be getting to
the shore, and how if that shore was not there, it would have kept going, dancing in the
bay forever with all its life. What Thomas wants the reader to see is that the wave
represents the good men and all the good things they were doing. Since a wave has to
get to shore, the shore would be representing death and the end of all the deeds. The
good men will not get to do any more good deeds since they will be dying soon, but if
they keep on fighting they will be able to keep dancing. Another example of imagery
used in the poem is when Thomas uses the sun as an object we can handle. Wild men
who caught and sang the sun in flight and learn, too late, they grieved on its way
(Thomas 10-11). The imagery used in here is that the wild men are catching the sun in
their hands and celebrating that victory, but they caught it too late and sadness was
coming their way. What Thomas was trying to tell us in this quote is that the wild men
will catch the sun life or also everything beautiful in this world, but they will start
noticing all this beauty a bit too late since the sun is in flight. If we reference back the
sun will soon go down and darkness will come, that means they will be dying soon and
it is too late to admire all the beauty. These wild men have to keep fighting so they can
keep looking at the beauty that they call Earth. Imagery helps the reader visualize and
understand the poem better.
In conclusion, this poem was a very good representation of a villanelle and had
many elements that can be analyzed. There are symbols like the representation of a
persons life in one day and how light is a symbol for life. These symbols tied in perfectly
with the theme of death. Another element found in this poem is literacy devices like an
oxymoron that hides the truth and repetition that emphasizes a point. Thomas also used

imagery in his poem to portray the theme of fighting using various settings. People in
the world need to enjoy life to the fullest; live their life like it was their last day because
they never know when the night will come, but when sunset is approaching try your
hardest to not go gentle.