Question

Assignment Do Not Go Gentle You will now work through Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” stanza by stanza, answering questions as you go. First Stanza 1. What image in the words “burn and rave” suggest? Why should someone “burn and rave at close of day?” 2. The word rage can mean “anger,” but it can also mean “passion”—an outpouring of feeling. How might Thomas have been using both meanings in the poem? Second Stanza 3. Though the wise men might “know” that it is time to die, the speaker says that they still fight death because “their words had forked no lightning.” What does this mean? 4. What images do you see in this stanza? Third Stanza 5. These good people cry “how bright their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay.” What does this mean? 6. What imagery do you see in this stanza? Fourth Stanza 7. How might these people have “sang the sun in flight” and then “grieved” it? 8. What imagery do you see in this stanza? Fifth Stanza 9. What images do you see in stanza 5? Sixth Stanza 10. Why do all these men not go gently into death? 11. What role do light and darkness play in the poem?

Answer 1

Dylan Thomas's 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night' uses imagery and tone to convey a message of fighting against death. The poem's structure and rhyme pattern emphasize its theme, with light and darkness symbolizing life and death. The poem culminates in a plea for resistance against the end of life.

Step-by-step explanation:

Dylan Thomas's poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" is a powerful expression against the gentle acceptance of death. The images and tone of the poem suggest defiance and a profound sense of urgency. The burn and rave at the close of day imagery implies intensity and a refusal to surrender, suggesting that one should fight against the dying of the light with vigor and passion. In the second stanza, the wise men's realization that 'their words had forked no lightning' signifies that their knowledge alone was not enough to leave a bold impact on the world, further reflecting the theme of resisting the inevitable end with all one's might.

The poem's structure, with its repeated refrain, adherence to the strict form of a villanelle, and consistent rhyme pattern, contributes to its urgent and emphatic tone. In terms of light and darkness, these elements act as symbols for life and death respectively, and the poem continuously draws on these metaphors to reinforce the struggle between them. The poem's overall message is a universal and impassioned plea for resistance against the cessation of life, and this is encapsulated in the concluding line urging people to fight against the dying of the light.