Do Not Go Gentle
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night [1951]
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage 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.
Questions for Discussion
1. Which of the following best paraphrases the theme of “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”?
A) Men should fight death for the sake of their families.
B) Even though death is inevitable, one should not just give in to it. .*
C) Death is a fact of life and should be accepted rather than denied.
D) Death is a blinding reality for wise and good men.
2. Thomas’s repetition of “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” elicits what emotion in the reader?
A) Sympathy with the speaker’s passion .
B) Empathy for the dying father *
C) Frustration with the repetition
D) Contempt for the speaker’s tone
3. Line 8 of “Do Not Go Gentle. . .” (“Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,”) is an example of which of the following literary devices?
A) Paradox
B) Symbolism
C) Personification .*
D) Metaphor
4. In “Do Not Go Gentle. . .,” all the following metaphors are used for death except —
A) Line 1 – “that good night”
B) Line 2 – “close of day”
C) Line 4 – “dark”
D) Line 16 – “the sad height”
Considering the Poem
1. What metaphors does Thomas use to refer to death?
2. What is Thomas asking of his father in the last stanza? Why does he ask to be cursed and blessed?
3. Why do the men of the poem "rage against the dying of the light"?
4. Explain the double meaning of "grave" in the fifth stanza.