An Explication of Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Essay

An Explication of Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night In this poem Thomas makes a very personal appeal to his father as the latter approaches death. He pleads with him not just to surrender to death but to fight death as long as possible. His plea also becomes universal as Thomas addresses also all other people approaching death, not to accept death as inevitable, but rather to fight against dying. Whether men have been strong or weak throughout their lives, they should still make a stand at the end. Different men approach death in different ways, but no matter what their approach, they should fight against loss itself. Stanza analysis Stanza 1 Line 1 is a repetition of the title of the poem - a line which is repeated four times in the poem. The repetition is functional as it emphasises the theme of the poem: not to accept death without fighting it as long as possible. In stanza 1 three different phrases are used to denote the idea of death namely good night; close of day and dying of light. The poet is very defiant: he emphasises the fact that man must fight. In this stanza the emphasis is on elderly people, " Old age" (line 2). Even elderly people, his father in particular, must not just accept the coming of death gently, but they should still fight it. Also note the contrast between "night" and "light", the rhyme words in stanza 1. Man is entering the night and leaving the light. Stanza 2 In this stanza the emphasis is on " wise men" (line4). Wise people as they approach death, they realise death is something that cannot be avoided: "know dark is right" (line 4).They regret death because they feel their words have not been good enough to light up the lives of others; their opportunity to m... ...ven a hint of what might have been. This is no more than a fleeting glimpse, just as a meteor that shines for a moment and then is gone." Blinding sight" is an example of oxymoron which is a combination of contradictory words placed side by side but which intensifies rather than detracts from the point to be made. Also note the contradiction in the simile " Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay". Stanza 6 In this stanza the emphasis is on the poet's father. It is important to him that his own father resists death with all the strength available to him. "sad height" refers to his old age. His father is asked to shed " fierce tears" in order to give himself a chance of a few more days/ months/ years of life. The theme of the poem lies in the final two lines: " Do not go gentle into that good night Rage, rage against the dying of light."