Chris Delling
Professor Wexler
English 495ESM
10 February 2010
Carpe Diem
Dylan Thomas’ classic villanelle, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is commonly interpreted as a son’s pleading with his father to fend off death’s cold grasp. And that is an accurate interpretation, in part. When examined more closely, however, we begin to see that “DNGGiTGN” is just as much about life as it is about death. Indeed, the majority of the poem is actually an exhortation, coupled with a warning, to live life to the fullest.
In Thomas’ first stanza, the speaker begins with the metaphorical refrain, “Do not go gentle into that good night” (1). The words “good night” serve a dual purpose. One, they set the tone for the rest of the poem: night is a metaphor for death. Two, and perhaps more telling, is the juxtaposition of “good” and “night.” We know this poem is about death, so how can it be good? In addition to setting the tone with this key phrase, Thomas also tells us how to read his work: antithesis will play an important role. Keeping that in mind, the diametrical opposite of death is life, which, the speaker is imploring us to live to the fullest. We see evidence of this in the next four stanzas.
In the second stanza the speaker talks of “wise men” knowing “at their end” that “dark is right.” The phrase “wise men” is a metaphor for those who have lived their lives in glorious fashion. They’re wise because they recognized the ephemeral nature of life, and seized upon every moment. They know, “dark is right” because no one can escape death, but they don’t fear it either, for they have truly lived. Thomas sets this as the example to live by.
In the following three stanza’s we’re introduced to men who failed to recognize life’s fleeting nature. Stanza three, for instance, begins with “good men,” a metaphor for youth and purity. These men have not yet been tainted by the beauty and the horror that is life. These “good men” are described as “crying how bright/their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay” (7-8). They never got a chance to achieve anything; their deeds are “frail”: they’re the deeds of men who hadn’t the time to really accomplish anything of note. Instead, they passed before their time, in the spring (green bay) of their lives. To close the stanza the speaker exhorts, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (9). This is a warning to all: enjoy every moment you’re given and take nothing for granted. To “rage against the dying of the light” (9) is thus, to not only live, but to live every moment as if it may be your last.
Stanza four begins with “Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight” (10). The phrase “Wild men” is a metaphor for those who lived to reach maturity, those who lived to see the day at its brightest. They saw “the sun in flight,” (10) saw what life had to offer. But they “learn[ed] too late” (11) that life is more than waking up, going to bed, and all that’s in between. They didn’t appreciate the opportunity they had been given and “grieved it (life) on its way” (11). This is a further warning: even those who’re fortunate enough to bask in the sun’s rays, who reach maturity, who live life by convention, will grieve, upon their deathbeds, for the path they chose. “Do Not Go Gentle into that good night” (12) says the speaker. His refrain reminds us, the reader, to live. Simply existing is not enough. We cannot go gently towards death, we must meet it head on, knowing that we did everything in our power to squeeze every last ounce out of our lives, knowing that we didn’t waste a single moment.
Stanza five begins with the phrase “grave men,” a metaphor with a double meaning. Grave, in this instance, means both those close to death, and those grave of mind. These are the men that have reached the end of their journey. They’ve left the harbor, battled the squalls, sailed the open seas, and can see the harbor once more. What’s more, they “see with blinding sight” (13). Thomas uses antithesis once again to illustrate the diametrically opposed concepts of life and death. In addition, we can interpret “blinding sight” as those who may be literally blind—somewhat common with old age—but can still look back upon the lives they led. The next line is most telling, however, for these men came so close to truly living. “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay” (14) if only they had realized what they had been given. The operative word in line 14 is could. If only they’d lived a glorious life, a life where every moment was cherished, where every desire was fulfilled, where every goal was accomplished, they could “be gay.” But they didn’t, and like the youth and men of age that preceded them, these men serve as yet another example of why one should “rage against the dying of the light” (15).
In the final stanza the poem takes on a more personal tone. The speaker opens, “And you, my father, there on sad height/curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray” (16-17). We find that not only is the reader implored to seize the day, but so, too, is the speaker’s father. One can surmise that the speaker’s father is on his death bed as the speaker exhorts one last time, “Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (18-19). One also gets the sense that the speaker’s father did not live his life to the fullest and, accordingly, the final two lines are spoken in sorrow. They’re tinged with regret, but also with the reminder that the speaker, too, must live by his own words.
Thus, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is just as much about life as it is about death; in fact, even more so. The speaker urges us to use the men he cites as examples. If we fail to recognize what life has to offer, we can never truly live it. And if we can never truly live it, then our final moments on this earth will be filled with regret and despair. To “rage against the dying of the light” is therefore an exhortation to live every moment as if it was your last.
Works Cited
Deutsch, Babette. Poetry Handbook A Dictionary of Terms. New York: Collins, 1982.
Print.
Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gently into That Good Night." 100 Best Loved Poems. New
York: Dover Publications, 1995. 93. Print.
