Analysis of "Do not go gentle into that good night" and journal article

¶ … Dylan Thomas was an English poet who was greatly inspired by his father, David John (D.J.)Thomas, an English Literature professor at Swansea Grammar School. As a response to his father's death, Thomas penned "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," one of his most well-known and popular poems. While there are many interpretations of what the poem represents, in Poetry Criticism, David Galens comments on the function of the poem's structure and form, which can be supported through an analysis of the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" and its use of duality, however, Galens also argues that the repetition "insistently" proclaims the remoteness of all fathers, an argument that appears to be based on personal biases.

Galens write that the poem "is a living cross-section, a simultaneously open and closed form, one in which the cycles of youth and age, of rise and fall, growth and decay find their analogues in the fixed cycle of rhymes and repetitions," an argument that can be supported through a close reading of the poem. Additionally, Galens argues, "the mixture of salutation and farewell in the phrase is a perfect equivalent for the balance between natural grief and the necessity which pervades the poem as a whole," which can also be supported through a close reading of the poem. However, while Galens argues, "Through its repetitions, the father's remoteness -- and the remoteness of all fathers -- is insistently proclaimed," which, given Thomas's relationship with his father, appears to be a far-fetched claim and based on personal bias.

Through the use of metaphor and duality, Galens demonstrates that he has a clear grasp as to the function of the poem's form and structure. Additionally, given Thomas's close relationship with his father, and how he idolized him, it Galens is able to successfully comment on how the remoteness felt by Thomas has influenced him to rely on his father for guidance and support.

Poetry Analysis Outline

Author and poem title: Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"

Author and article title: David Galens, Poetry Criticism Vol. 52

An Insistent Proclamation Against Death

I. Introduction

a. Question under investigation: How is Thomas's use of duality and metaphors, in addition to his close relationship with his father, supported through Galens' analysis of the poem's form and structure?

b. Thesis: Galens' observations regarding "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"s structure and form, and regarding the remoteness of fathers is supported through an analysis of the dualities and metaphors presented, as well as the relationship Thomas maintained with his father throughout his life.

First Body Paragraph

c. Topic sentence: Galens argues the villanelle structure of the poem "is a living cross-section, a simultaneously open and closed form, in which the cycles of youth and age, of rise and fall, growth and decay find their analogues in the fixed cycle of repetition" (Galens 313).

d. Major evidence: Thomas does this through four stanzas that each contain a different example of a specific type of man. Each of these stanzas is formatted similarly. Thomas introduces the type of man, has them acknowledge that they are near the end of their life, makes a reference what each man accomplished while he was still young, and then states that these men, upon recognizing they are not ready to die, fight against death.

i. Examples of wise men, good men, wild men, grave men who despite what they did or did not accomplish in their youth, still "rage against the dying of the light" and "do not go gentle into that good night"

1. Wise men -- philosophers and educators -- know at the end that death is what comes next, but because they do not think they have made an impact on the world, fight against death because they have not accomplished their life goal

2. Good men look back at what they have accomplished in their youth, seeing their accomplishments as weak, do not give in to death

3. Wild men -- who looking back at what they have accomplished and realize too late that they did not really accomplish anything, fight to live with the hope that there may still be time to accomplish something

4. Grave men -- the most sick -- who's old age has transformed them into the men they are now, blind with age, still look back at their youth, at a time when their now blind eyes glistened, and still fight to live.

e. Explanation: Each stanza is a repetition of the same events with differences based on the man and their actions. However, each man still fights for his life and does not surrender to death. In presenting these different types of men, Thomas is trying to convince his father that he embodies the characteristics of all of these men and thus urges him to keep on fighting. These different men serve as a metaphor for the man his father is.

f. Other evidence and explanation (if necessary):

II. Second Body Paragraph

a. Topic sentence: Galens argument "the mixture of salutation and farewell in the phrase [good night] is the perfect equivalent for the balance between natural grief and the recognition of necessity which pervades the poem as a whole" is supported through Thomas' address to his father in the last stanza of the poem.

b. Major evidence: "Do not go gentle into that good night" (Thomas line 19)

c. Explanation: From Thomas's perspective, saying "Good night" would require him to accept that he is saying good bye to his father, whereas giving in to the good night is his father's way of accepting death (Thomas line 18). From his father's perspective, "Good night" is a welcome relief to the suffering he is enduring, but if he refuses to give in to "that good night," he only delays the natural grief Thomas will be forced to deal with regardless of when he dies (line 18).

d. Other evidence (if necessary): The balance of "natural grief and the recognition of necessity" Galens alludes to can also be seen in Thomas' request to, "Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears" (Galens 313; Thomas line 17). This line has four different meanings: two for Thomas and two for his father.

e. Explanation: "Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears" has four different meanings: two for Thomas and two for his father (Thomas line 17).

The word "Curse" has a dual meaning. For Thomas, the curse would be to be forever separated from his father. For his father, the curse would be to continue living in agony and pain at the expense of granting his son's wish to fight against death. Similarly, "bless" has a dual meaning. For Thomas, to be blessed would be to be able to spend more time with his father, but for his father, to be blessed would be being allowed to die in peace and end his suffering. Thomas recognizes death is a natural part of life but does not want to accept it at the expense of losing his father.