Question

1. 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?

2. What images do you see in this stanza?

Answer 1

I believe this is saying even though wise men may know that their time is up and they are going to die. They will try to fight death because they feel that their words have not yet altered the world i any way or held no meaning to anyone.

Answer 2

In the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas, the speaker says “their words had forked no lightning” meaning that they haven't left much a mark in the world. "To fork" means to split or divide into two parts, which means their words (or their actions) were not very powerful. In the stanza, I see men putting up a fight as their last chance to make a difference.