Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
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.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And 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 blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Commentary
In case you missed it, there was a theme this week, which was somewhat hard to make explicit, but which should be clear in retrospect.
While Thomas has written a number of extraordinarily beautiful and lyrical poems, this is probably his best known, and certainly my favourite. It is hard to believe that anyone could approach so timeworn a theme with such breathtaking intensity and freshenss - in particular, the verse beginning ‘wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight’ is IMHO Thomas at the top of his not inconsiderable form.
Another thing to note is that the villanelle (of which more later) is an extraordinarily difficult and constraining form; the effortless ease with which Thomas makes it appear to be the natural form for this poem is incredible.
<Thomas>
Martin was kind enough to tell me in advance that he was running this, my other favourite poem (the first, in case you don’t remember, was Coleridge’s Kubla Khan - Minstrels Poem #30). And though I’ll never forgive him for pre-empting me :-) I can at least derive some small consolation from being able to add my own comments.
Having said that, though, I must confess that I can think of no comments that could possibly do justice to this magnificent poem. If ever a writer approached perfection in lyrical and emotional intensity, this is it. The rhetoric is never forced, always clear and ringing, and always profoundly moving; the images are shimmeringly beautiful, yet terribly true; the language is simple but potent; the metre and complicated rhyme scheme simply add to the magic. All in all, sheer genius.
— Thomas
</Thomas>
Background Info:
written May 1951.
published in 'In Country Sleep', 1952.
“Addressed to the poet’s father as he approached blindness and death. The relevant aspect of the relationship was Thomas’s profound respect for his father’s uncompromising independence of mind, now tamed by illness. In the face of strong emotion, the poet sets himself the task of mastering it in the difficult form of the villanelle. Five tercets are followed by a quatrain, with the first and last line of the stanza repeated alternately as the last line of the subsequent stanzas and gathered into a couplet at the end of the quatrain. And all this on only two rhymes. Thomas further compounds his difficulty by having each line contain 10 syllables”.
from Dylan Thomas: Selected Poems
edited by Walford Davies,
JM Dent & Sons Ltd, London, 1974
pp 131-32
On Villanelles:
villanelle
rustic song in Italy, where the term originated (Italian villanella from villano: “peasant”); the term was used in France to designate a short poem of popular character favoured by poets in the late 16th century. Du Bellay’s “Vanneur de Blé” and Philippe Desportes’ “Rozette” are examples of this early type, unrestricted in form. Jean Passerat (died 1602) left several villanelles, one so popular that it set the pattern for later poets and, accidentally, imposed a rigorous and somewhat monotonous form: seven-syllable lines using two rhymes, distributed in (normally) five tercets and a final quatrain with line repetitions.
The villanelle was revived in the 19th century by Philoxène Boyer and J. Boulmier. Leconte de Lisle and, later, Maurice Rollinat also wrote villanelles. In England, the villanelle was cultivated by W.E. Henley, Austin Dobson, Andrew Lang, and Edmund Gosse. Villanelles in English include Henley’s “A Dainty Thing’s the Villanelle,” which itself describes the form, and Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.”
– E.B.
And on a more amusing note:
The Art of the Villanelle
Attend this line, which you'll have heard
repeated in this villanelle
until you're sick of every word --
a repetition as absurd
as any babbled cries in hell.
Attend this line, which you'll have heard
re-echoed like a mocking bird,
returning like a carousel,
until you're sick of every word.
(And then the rhymes! Would not a third
with "ell" and "erd" have worked as well?)
Attend this line, which you'll have heard
until your vision's gotten blurred,
until your ears ring like a bell,
until you're sick of every word
each time the line is disinterred!
You'll whisper in a padded cell,
"Attend this line, which you'll have heard..."
until you're sick of every word.
– Peter Schaeffer,
http://homepages.packet.net/schaeff/dpress/artvil.html
— Martin
Show 19 commentsHide comments
From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
rjusufi · 3 March 2000
i loved this poem. the words the tale is all fantastic.
Vincent Lee · 6 May 2001
My favourite poem
can you guys interpret it line by line?
thanks in advance
Dave Hash · 19 March 2002
I’m going to try and analyse this poem line for line:
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. My understanding of this is that Thomas may have actually accepted the Christian concept of death as that ‘good night’, yet refers to it not no so much in vai sarcasm as a dismissal - yes, death may be the ‘good night’ but it does not mean acquiesence to its inevitability. He also links death to the ‘close of day’, to ‘the dying of the light’ - so death is both a night and a darkness as oppossed to the day and light of living - finally the use of ‘burn and rave’ suggests a fever or delirium - immediately showing you his father either in the grips of illness, but perhaps not ‘raving’ but quiet.
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. Wise men know at the end of their alloted time death is inevitable, yet for all their wisdom (and wise words) they know that they cannot avoid - they do not acquiesce - This in my humble opinion is the most tricky line of the poem: “Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.” - does this suggest their words would not lighten their path into the dark of death? Or tongues and forked - suggesting that somehow they lie to themselves in their wisdom that “dark is right” and that this sheds no light, so they do not go gentle? Tis a difficult one. 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. Good men weeping over what furture deeds could have achieved, however frail they may have been, again in a juxtapositioning of the dancing, light of a green bay (the living) - they also struggle against dying Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Wild men, full of life and song, catching the sun, the temporal, the changing of the day (as if life is one long day from dawn to the dying dusk), and yet realise the temporal nature of their actions too late, grieve perhaps that this was their only focus as the dusk approached, they too fight death
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Grave (serious) men, who only in death with now age/illness blinded eyes realise that those eyes could have blazed with life and joy when they had the time, if they had but enjoyed the joys of living more, now they too will fight the dying as they realise too late, too late. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And finally he asks his father - upon a ‘sad height’ evoking a painful acknowledgement of his loneliness (where he goes Thomas cannot follow) and also evoking an image almost of sacrifice - ‘curse (and) bless me now’ - curse me for my having life still to live and bless me for that as well - and finally he begs him to also fight the inevitable.
In summary it seems to me that too often much is made of Thomas anger/rage at death - I believe he actually acknowledges its inevitability and purpose in this poem - and yet he lists why all men, whether wise, good, carefree or serious should struggle against death for the sake of it - this rings true then with slightly mythic background behind this poem which has Thomas composing it as he sees his father on his deathbed apparently giving up this same final struggle.
Peter Collins · 4 December 2002
Its more. Dylan was exceptional for one so young. His wisdom came so freakishly early that it is small wonder he burned out so soon. He could not articulate his certain vision of an unending God being pressed by the strictures of his time. Admonishing his father to rage against the dying of the light was the closest he came to telling not just his father but all he sought to reach that there is no dying of the light. Death is no more than changing a light bulb in the bigger picture. The admonishment was directed at his father’s narrowness of accepting death as finality. The whole poem speaks to this issue and Dylan’s anger of his dad’s seeming inability to welcome death as a new beginning. The dying of the light is not about the dying of a human form but the dying of a belief in God and the next certain life. It is against that that his father should rage and his frustration of his dad’s inability to do so is the evocative kernel of the poem. Dylan is positively angry and is probably taking his frustration out in the wrong quarter. But when we read and learn from the poem that issue isn’t important. Never a man to suffer fools gladly he makes no exception with his father. When he speaks of “wise men at their end know dark is right….” he is disapproving. His poem is so obviously dialectical. “Rage against your silly narrowness” is the message. The “light” doesn’t die with you! Try and take that onboard dad! While the words are a raging “against” they are in reality a plea to rage “in favour” of acceptance of a human carcass which, next time round, will be wiser. To go “gentle” to death seems to me that Dylan is saying to his father that he is giving up God’s greater plan - something that Dylan never did. I don’t know who I’m writing to but I hope it reaches you.
Peter Collins (Botswana)
Laura Murdoch · 28 February 2003
Dave Hash’s interpretation of Dylan’s dialogue with his father is elegant.
However, his cool, Chapel certain, headmaster father was much more accepting of both his blindness and his impending death, more certain clothed in his Methodist faith than his raw and impassioned son. Dylan’s genius was devoured by his alcoholism. His concerns were far more secular and his explorations far more concerned with the nature of man, and woman. I spent my childhood listening to his regular radio broadcasts in the UK, the ferocity of his conviction and emotion burst every syllable apart. This was not a man transported by his qualities of spirituality but by his absolute human qualities, for he was Green and Golden famous amongst the barns as he described himself in Fernhill.
Laura Murdoch
Regards as ever,
Laura Murdoch
906 Dominion Drive
KATY TX
Chellappa Mallika (Mallika) · 14 October 2003
I hardly think this poem shows any belief in the hereafter. The whole purpose of not going gentle is that you don’t know where you’re going, and this is your last chance to make an impression on ..??
This is a beautiful poem, which says “live life to the hilt and don’t go quietly when death comes”
Mallika
Staci · 2 November 2003
can you guys interpret it line by line?
thanks in advance
ATarsh2 · 6 January 2004
Hi there,
I always liked the dylan thomas poem “do not go gentle into that good night” and last night, with time on my hands, i looked online for interpretations of this poem and came across your very insightful interpretation of it on www.cs.rice.edu
I am a religious Jew and now know why this poem touched me to the core. it’s concepts are very Jewish regarding one’s life, legacy and the continuation of one’s journey into “the next world”. Thank you for so clearly putting into words what it was that makes that poem ring true to me – it’s like looking through an everlasting “keyhole” that goes on and on.
best wishes for a good year!!!
sincerely,
amy
Celine · 28 June 2004
Always loved this poem. Really glad you guys included it in the archives
love Celine
John Frondorf · 25 August 2004
My own father just died, two days ago, after a month of illness. Complication piled on top of complication; already frail and 85, he had no chance. But he did not go gentle: at first he argued, wheedled, yelled and cursed, and as he came undone, he raged, and in the end, he was quite incoherent. Dylan Thomas never meant much to me until now. I do not see a large religious component regarding an afterlife in his poem. I take it, rather, that he was saying, no matter who you are, this is all you have - certainly all that we can be sure we have - and that you should not let it go easily. Unexpectedly, this poem helps me accept the way he met death.
John Frondorf
BECKER & FRONDORFx11
David Jenkins (private) · 8 October 2004
I love this poem. It has so many complicated messages and can be interpreted in so many ways. This is what makes it so enjoyable.
If you read it all together I think it is about making a difference to the world you have lived in
“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”
I interpret this to mean that if you have not made a difference (their words had forked no lightning) then it is too late to regret this at the end of your life.
I would love to know how Dylan Thomas wrote it. Did he sit for ages deliberating on each word or did it just flow like speech. I think the latter.
If you listen to Dylan reading this himself ( [broken link] http://www.poets.org/poems/poems.cfm?prmID=1159 ) it sounds sad rather than the feeling of anger that I get reading the written poem.
Amend Edward · 29 June 2005
The Pieta of Poems. Only Shelley’s Adonais is more beautiful. I can think of no poem that deals with the passing of a loved one with such depth of feeling and such an integral oppositional defiance towards “the dying of the light.” In a word: “Priceless” but who would expect any less from legend?
Edward Amend
Word Processing Department
Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP
900 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Paul & Win Grace · 22 November 2005
Such a wonderful thought. Too bad Thomas left out half the world’s population. And would that this were just a matter of semantics and not reality. But the truth is that that half is powerless and the selfishness and shortsightedness of the male half of the population has truly brought the world to its knees today. And so I will continue to Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light! Win Grace
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HaparrKye · 6 February 2006
As someone who cares for those at the time of death this poem screams out the way I would wish NOT to die. There is no peace, no acceptance and no grace.
IQ
I’m out of my mind,
but feel free to leave a message.
Wendy And Rich · 7 April 2006
Hello David (at least I think I’m writing to a David),
You posted a great explication of Thomas’ poem. I’m a highschool student writing an essay on it for class and I would like to cite your comment and include several of your ideas. I know at the bottom of your post there is a note of exclusivity to the recipient of your email. If are opposed to me citing you, a simple no will do and I’ll look other places. But if yes, would you please email back and tell me.
Thanks and regards for your insightful comments, Matt Simpson
Im4rusty12158 · 6 September 2006
to conquer death we only have to die……I know I heard that somewhere, turn off a light, blow out a candle,energy…….pure energy is lost somewhere, we think so little of ourselfs!
Im4rusty12158 · 6 September 2006
to conquer death, you only have to………..die?.
MatthewsTom · 18 December 2006
I think this poem loses something outside the context of Thomas’ other works. Isn’t this poem about men (and women) who are fully immersed in this world and thus, as he says elsewhere, are “struck down by death’s feather.”
Tom Matthews
Candice Marrufo · 19 December 2007
I completly agree.
candice