Criticism on the Poem Do Not Go Gentle

The first poem that Dylan doubting doubting doubting Thomas ever published, when he was only eighteen, was an early version of And demolition Shall Have No Dominion. The cycle of life and death formed a constant underlying theme throughout his poetry since that earliest effort. In Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, a moving plea to his dying aim, death takes on a new and intensely personal sum for Thomas. David John Thomas was an important influence throughout his son Dylans life. A grammar school English teacher, he had a deep love for lyric poem and literature which he passed on to his son.In a 1933 letter to a friend, Dylan Thomas describes the library he sh atomic number 18d with his father in their home. His fathers section held the classics, while his included modern poetry. It had, according to Thomas, e rattlingthing needed in a library. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night was in all likelihood composed in 1945 when D. J. Thomas was seriously ill however, it was no t published until after his death on December 16, 1952. Thomas move the poem to a friend, Princess Caetani, in the spring of 1951, telling her that the only person I cant show the little enclosed poem to is, of course, my father who doesnt know hes dying.After his fathers death, the poem was included in the collection In Country Sleep. Ironically Dylan Thomas himself died just a year later. The poem discusses various ways to approach death in old jump on. It advocates affirming life up until the last breath, rather than study to accept death quietly. Poem Summary Lines 1-3 The first tercet introduces the poems theme it also introduces the dickens recurring refrains that end alternate stanzas. Although these two business organisations, the first and the third, both state Thomass basic theme about resisting death, they contrast in several ways.Each of the predominant words in line whizz finds its opposite in line three. Gentle is paired with rage, good with dying, and night wit h light. The tone of the two lines also is quite contrastive. Line one is subdued the verbs argon deliberately simple, vague. Thomas uses the predicate adjective gentle, making it describe the personality of the individual, rather than the more obvious choice gently, an adverb which would only tie in to the action of the verb. Good night when it refers to dying becomes a paradox for Thomas, meaning a good death.Although this line may be an exhortation to resist death, its wide tone is gentle. Compare this to the beginning of line 3 where rage is repeated twice. Here the poet urges a furious resistance to death. The second line introduces Thomass advice to those who near death. The idea of burning is frequently associated with the passion of youth however, Thomas wants the elderly to cling as passionately to their lives as anyone would. The phrase close of daytime establishes a connection with the good night of the previous line, while the words burn and rave move the reader int o the third line of the stanza.Line 4 The next four stanzas describe four different types of old men and examine their attitudes and feelings as they realize that death is approaching. The first type Thomas mentions are the wise men. They may be considered scholars or philosophers. Perhaps because of this, intellectually they accept the inevitability of death. Thomas begins the line with the word though, however, to indicate that their knowledge has not vigilant them to accept the reality of death. Line 5 This line explains why the wise men are unable to act in accordance with their knowledge.Scholars are cognize and measured by their words. These men be in possession of many words still left unwritten or unspoken, so their goals have not been accomplished. Thomas ends this line in mid-thought, leaving the rest of the idea to the next line. This parallels the unfulfilled lives of the wise men, with their messages only partially delivered. Line 6 In many villanelles, the refrains simply look as a chorus. Here, Thomas makes it an integral part of the meaning of the stanza. Lines 7-8 Good sees to be used in a moral sense here, describing men who have lived worthy, acceptable lives.The phrase last wave presents readers with a dual image. The men themselves are a last wave, the last to approach death they also seem to be giving a final wave to those who they are leaving behind. Crying, as well, has two meanings here. In one sense, it simply means speaking out, nevertheless it also carries the sense of weeping and mourning. Like the wise men, the good men have not accomplished what they wished to in life. Their actions failed to stand out. Thomas uses rhyme for different purposes here. Rhyming bright at the end of line 7 with might in line 8 erves to emphasize both words and link the two stanzas. Also, the rhyming of by, crying, and dying unites this stanza, while the use of deeds and danced is an example of alliteration. Line 9 The intensity of the refrain co ntrasts with the nature of the good men as Thomas has presented them. They seem passive, their actions weak. Now at the end of life, they must finally behave passionately, finally be noticed.Lines 10-12 Thomass wild men are very different from the good, quiet men in the previous stanzas.The image, caught and sang the sun, is joyous and powerful when compared to frail deeds. These men have lived live fully, not realizing that they, too, will age and die. Since Thomas himself cultivated an image as a wild Celtic bard, this stanza seems ironically prophetic about his own death. Line 13 The word drab carries two meanings here seriousness and death. These are the men of understanding paradoxically, although they are craft, they are able to see more clearly than those with sight. Lines 14-15 The mentions of blindness are references to his father.Thomas spoke of this blindness again in the unfinished elegy he wrote after his fathers death, describing him as Too proud to die, broken and b lind he died An old kind man brave in his burning pride. In this stanza, Thomas contrasts light and dark vision for instance, the term grave is countered by gay, just as blind is contrasted with sight. Lines 16-17 While the last stanza referred to Thomass father only obliquely, this stanza is addressed to him. The sad height refers to his closeness to death.There are Biblical overtones to Thomass request in line 17, as he asks for a final blessing or curse the patriarchs delivered such persona messages to their sons. As in many Bible verses, with their parallel structure, blessings and curses are paired together. If this line is read as iambic pentameter, however, the emphasis will fall on the words, bless and now. The image of fierce tears shows contrast the tears acknowledging the inevitability of death, while the use of fierce indicates resistance until the end. I pray reinforces the Biblical imagery however, the prayer is addressed to his father, the agnostic, rather than G od.