Group number: 5
Members:
Abapo, Kharl Agbay, Marie Louise
Daguel, Niel Jorge Sintos, Nelmar
Tabada, Paul Kerby
Literatures of the World
TTh 3:00 – 4:30 P.M.
March 9, 2023
Assigned poem: Do not go gentle into that good night
(By Dylan Thomas - 1914-1953)
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
The author: Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas or known as Dylan Thomas was born on
27 October 1914 in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. He died
at the age of 39 on November 9, 1953 at Greenwih Village,
New York City, United States.
While living in London, Thomas met Caitlin Macnamara. They
married in 1937 and had three children. He was a Welsh poet
and writer whose famous works include the poem, "Do not go
gentle into that good night". He suffered from breathing issues
from childhood, and they plagued him throughout his life.
(His breathing problems are what spared him from being conscripted into the military in
World War II.) Thomas had married young, and his marriage to Caitlin McNamara was
contentious. Thomas was a very heavy drinker and carouser, and his alcoholism and
multiple affairs put a strain on his relationship with his wife. It has also put a strain on his
body.
During an American tour in 1953, Thomas started getting sick. On the night of his 39th
birthday, Thomas fell ill and slipped into a coma. He passed away a few days later, and
the coroner ruled his cause of death as a mixture of a fatty liver, pneumonia, and brain
swelling. Dylan Thomas wrote "Do not go gentle into that good night" during a very
specific moment in Dylan Thomas' life. His father, David John Thomas, had first
introduced him to the wonder of language by reading him Shakespeare before bed at
night. Thomas' father was a grammar school teacher, but he had always wanted to be a
poet but was never able to realize his dream.
The exquisite yet tragic poem “Do not go gentle into that good night" comes from
Thomas' experience watching his father pass away. As a result, the poem's primary
purpose is to think about death—or more to the point, to think about dying. In many
ways, this is also a poem about man's last mortal act, which is passing away. Dylan's
prominent poems include 'Do not go gentle into that good night' and 'And Death Shall
Have No Dominion'. He also included poetry in his famous play for voices, 'Under Milk
Wood'. Dylan's first collection of poems was published in December 1934, a month after
his twentieth birthday.
Guide questions:
1. SSAL
Situation: The speaker experienced being with his dying father until his death.
Witnessing his father's death causes the speaker to think about death in a broader
sense.
Supporting lines:
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
The speaker considers how the different types of individuals (men), as shown in the
previous five stanzas, will eventually have to confront death as well.
Supporting lines:
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
In the end, the speaker comes to terms with the fact that death cannot be prevented but
can be resisted. He encourages readers to "rage against the dying of the light" and "not
go gently into that good night," which is another way of saying that they should not
accept death without protest. Instead, he informs listeners that the final decision a dying
person makes is how to approach death. Thomas sees fighting death as both a brave
and human response.
Speaker: The speaker in the poem is a person whose father or loved one is dying or
has already witnessed death upon his father. He represents anyone who’s ever lost a
loved one.
In stanzas 2-5, the speaker is using the third persona, while at the end, he switched to
the second persona.
Supporting lines:
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Addressee: The dying father was mentioned as the addressee in the last stanza & the
dying people in general, as mentioned in stanzas 2 to 5.
Supporting lines:
“And you, my father”
“Wise men, Good men, Wild men, and Grave men”
Language: The poem is mostly metaphorical, using mostly metaphors such as “that
good night”, “dying light”, and “their end” in relation to death.
The poet uses some unusual word combinations creating oxymoron and
personifications.
All in all, the poem is highly symbolic and metaphorical, and the poet relies on a lot of
wordplays to convey certain images.
2. Which elements of the poem are prominent in the poem your group is
assigned to discuss? Support your answer.
The poem’s prominent element/s are meter and rhyme.
The poem is written in a villanelle form.
Villanelle: A villanelle is divided into nineteen lines which comprise five tercets and a
quatrain. Usually, a villanelle is written in iambic pentameter and so is "Do not Go
Gentle into That Good Night".
Rhyme: The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA.
(night-day-light, right-they-night, bright-bay-light, flight-way-night, sight-gay-light, and
height-pray-night-light) where the A’s are words that have an end rhyme with “ight,
and the B’s are words that have an end rhyme with “ey/ay”
3. Which figures of speech are used in the poem?
Metaphor: The poet metaphorically refers to death as ‘good night’, in lines 1, 6, 12, &
18. Here, he calls it good because it is a phenomenon that is inevitable and is
sometimes a means of easing human beings from mental, physical, and emotional pain.
It is an exit to eternity.
He also refers to death as ‘dark’ in line 4. Lines 3, 9, 15, and 19 refer to death as ‘dying
of the light.’ Light represents life. So, the dying of the light means life gradually fades off
with death. The poet also made reference to death as the ‘close of day’ in line 2. This
means the end of one’s life. The poet uses this poem to emphasize the importance of
living and why it is worth fighting for even in old age or on one’s deathbed.
Alliteration: Alliteration is a literary device in which words having the same first
consonant appear together in a line of poetry. This appears in lines:
Lines 1, 6, 12 & 18 – Do not go gentle into that good night (g)
In Line 4 – Though wise at their end know dark is right (th)
Line 10 – wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight (s)
Also, Line 11 – And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way (l)
Line 14 – Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay (b)
Oxymoron: Oxymoron is a figure of speech that places two opposing or contradictory
words together to create a poetic effect or reveal the truth.
Examples: Line 13 – Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Line 17 – Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Simile: A simile is a comparison between two unlike entities or things. This uses ‘like’ or
‘as’ in comparison. Simile draws simple contrast between the natural world and familiar
objects. The poetic persona uses this figure of speech in Line 14 – Blind eyes could
blaze like meteors and be gay.
Personification: In personification, inanimate objects or abstractions receive human
qualities or traits. An instance of this poetic device in “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good
night” is Line 8 – Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay.
Metonymy: Metonymy refers to the replacement of a word or phrase with a different
one closely associated or related to it. An example in the poem is in Line 2 – Old age
should burn and rave at close of day.
4. Is there at least one social issue presented in the poem?
Yes, there is.
(Social issues are topics or subjects that impact many people. They often reflect current
events but also represent longstanding problems or disagreements that are difficult to
solve. Beliefs, opinions, and viewpoints can be strong, and debate on these topics is a
natural outcome of public discourse.) These are 1. Family and grief and 2. Life and
death.
Family and Grief - In the final stanza, the poem becomes not only about death but
about family and grief. The poem has switched from a universal message about facing
death to an emotionally-charged message that is just as much about the speaker and
his own grief as it is about those he addresses.
Life & Death
The poem’s speaker offers insight into how to face death with dignity and ferocity rather
than resignation, believing that people should “burn and rave” as they approach death.
Throughout the poem, the speaker describes a series of people who only realize when
confronted with death that they have not accomplished all they wanted to throughout
their life.
For example, the men who “caught and sang the sun in flight” lived their lives joyously
but recklessly. When faced with death, they are overcome with regrets about their
frivolous behavior and squandered opportunities to appreciate life as it was happening.
Through these examples, the speaker earnestly urges people to live life to its fullest
before it is too late, believing that only on their deathbeds do many people realize just
how precious life is. While death is inevitable, it must be fought bravely against as a
token of respect for the sanctity of life.
Essentially, the poem also notes the essence of the family as a vital social theme. The
speaker, nevertheless, uses a warning and motivational tone to encourage individuals
to face death fearlessly.
5. Is there a reflection of a guiding principle in life or a major challenge or
accomplishment in life presented in the poem? Support your answer.
Yes, there is.
In relation to the answers from number 4, the poem’s primary sentiment is that life is
precious and should be fought for at every turn.
It tries to teach its readers how to face death and live their best life in the meantime. It
starts with a basic fact: death is inevitable. As Thomas says in line 4, “wise men at their
end know dark is right.” In other words, they recognize that they can't escape from
death.
A major challenge in life was presented in the poem which is to hold onto the life we
have and as the inevitable death tries to happen, we must not go down without a fight.
Make your life more meaningful and worthwhile for as long as possible and do not
passively accept the occurrence of death because our life is definitely worth fighting for.