“Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”(Thomas 18-19).
The scene is depressing: a son sits and watches as his father slowly loses his fight to live, descending into death. Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” relates to his own experiences, as he watched his father on his deathbed, urging him not to give up on life. Death or a “dying of a light” is a tragedy especially if one loses a loved one as a result. Many even encourage their loved ones to not let go, and Thomas especially uses this villanelle to convince his father to continue to “ rage against the dying of the light”. Throughout the poem, he uses many images to describe death’s fixture in everyone’s life. Thomas uses images such as “lightning” and “meteors” to illustrate the natural appearance of death in everyone’s life. He even uses four types of men: wise, good, wild , and grave to convey that, his message applies to every man out in the world. Each type of man lives their life in a different , but converge similarly in their need to fight as they reach the end of their life. In the end, he transitions to how they all connect the same with his father’s current situation, illustrating his despair.
Thomas uses a strict style of poetry, the villanelle, to show that even life itself follows a strict cycle of life and finally death. Yet why does Thomas describe death, an image which everyone should fight against as a “good night”? This brings up the feeling that even though one should fight against death, in the end it still brings one peace. As his father’s struggle to live both “curses” and “blesses” Thomas, as he knows that his father is still painstakingly fighting. From this, Thomas conveys the message that everyone must not give up in the fight against death because in the end life is too short not to fight.
The scene is depressing: a son sits and watches as his father slowly loses his fight to live, descending into death. Dylan Thomas’ poem “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” relates to his own experiences, as he watched his father on his deathbed, urging him not to give up on life. Death or a “dying of a light” is a tragedy especially if one loses a loved one as a result. Many even encourage their loved ones to not let go, and Thomas especially uses this villanelle to convince his father to continue to “ rage against the dying of the light”. Throughout the poem, he uses many images to describe death’s fixture in everyone’s life. Thomas uses images such as “lightning” and “meteors” to illustrate the natural appearance of death in everyone’s life. He even uses four types of men: wise, good, wild , and grave to convey that, his message applies to every man out in the world. Each type of man lives their life in a different , but converge similarly in their need to fight as they reach the end of their life. In the end, he transitions to how they all connect the same with his father’s current situation, illustrating his despair.
Thomas uses a strict style of poetry, the villanelle, to show that even life itself follows a strict cycle of life and finally death. Yet why does Thomas describe death, an image which everyone should fight against as a “good night”? This brings up the feeling that even though one should fight against death, in the end it still brings one peace. As his father’s struggle to live both “curses” and “blesses” Thomas, as he knows that his father is still painstakingly fighting. From this, Thomas conveys the message that everyone must not give up in the fight against death because in the end life is too short not to fight.
No comments:
Post a Comment