Explication of Dylan Thomas’, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”
...mas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” like an angel. That was the first time I had heard it. I had read it a year or so earlier, but without a doubt I understood it far better after hearing Beth interpret it. So ever since then this poem has held special meaning for me. This inspirational poem is about fighting death, although those exact words are never used. Dylan Thomas, while saying it many different ways, symbolizes death with night. And whether it be “close of day” or “the dying of the light,” he urges us to fight death and prolong life. His synonym for ‘fight’ is ‘rage’, and it is repeated at the end of every other stanza and the last. As a matter of fact, it is repeated twice as much as that because it is repeated in each line itself: “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” This repetition of a single word brings attention to the whole phrase, and seems to be used for emphasis. Also the title is used as a line and repeated in the first, last, and every other stanza. A repitition that slipped by me even after the first couple of readings, is that of two metaphors for death: “the dying of the light” and “that good night.” These are used at the ends of lines in all the stanzas and they alternate usage every other stanza. The images projected through these words seem to me to be day, night, dark, light, death, life, and survival. Although these are all different, the poet links them together by portraying dark as death and l...