Blog Post 8

In the poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” I believe the author Dylan Thomas is trying to give the reader a lesson in which to not take life for granted. The speaker is trying to say that once you’re an old man you should try to resist death the most you can. The only way to die, kicking and screaming for your life because you’re going to lose it. The father of the speaker is dying and is going through these phases.

            At the beginning of the poem the speaker tells someone not to “go gentle into that good night”. The speaker is using the word “night” as a metaphor for death. In line 2, he states “old age should burn and rave at close of day” by this he means that the sunset could be the approach of someone’s death. The speaker believes old men should “burn and rave” when it comes to them dying and not just die peacefully.

            In stanza 2, the speaker says “Though wise men at their end know dark is right” by this he meant that men know when they are about to die. In line 6 he is trying to say that when people die sometimes they didn’t achieve their goals in life. In the 3^rd stanza, lines 7-9 are trying to explain how these men are shouting how good they would’ve became if they were allowed to live longer. The bay the speaker states is green because of the plants, seaweed, algae in it. The speaker states how the men would have had a potential future but they have to die as “frail deeds”.
            In stanza 4, the speaker labels these men as “wild men”. These “wild men” were men who didn’t take in death peacefully. “They caught and sang the flight” which would mean that their life was going past them so fast they couldn’t tell. When they think everything is alright it really wasn’t life was just ending for them. In stanza 5, Thomas mentions another type of men “grave men”. These men could either mean that they are serious or dying. These men even though they are weak because of their blind eyes are trying to rage against death. They are trying to put a fight.

            In the last stanza, 6, the speaker mentions his dying father. The speaker tells his father to try and stop his death. He begs him to cry. The death of the father is heartbreaking but if the father fights his death he would be labeled as heroic. The speaker tells his father not to submit to death and to instead fight it the most he can. He has to put up with death.

            In conclusion, there are four different types of men when it comes to death. There are wise men who know when their time to die has come. Good men who wish they would of accomplished many more things in life. Wild men, who put up a fight when there about to die and trying to go out with a bang. Finally, grove men, these men are basically the heroes. They try to survive even though they know they are weak. The lesson learned in this poem is never take death as a joke and always fight for your life because you only have one.

Works Cited

http://www.shmoop.com/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/