"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas
Thomas wrote a variety of work all starting at a young age. He wrote short stories, poetry, broadcasts, films and an unfinished novel. Some of his poems are very straight forward and some are abstruse. Thomas did not belong to any certain niche of literature; he paved his own path that was unique to him, which made him stand out.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
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.

This poem has a straight forward meaning, but also some subtle abstract ideas as well. He uses "Do not go gentle into that good night" as a metaphor to tell his father to fight death until the last second, don't just die but fight for you life every second you can. He uses his diction and language to repeat and emphasize certain lines which help us put into perspective what this poem is about. "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "rage rage against the dying of the light" are very vivid imagery telling his father not to die so easily.
Thomas gives examples of people who "do not go gentle into that good night," which exemplify the kind of people that fight against death. These people displayed represent courage and living their life to the fullest. Thomas says to his father "curse bless me now with your fierce tears," begging his father to fight for his life. This is powerful diction which compels us to feel sympathy for the speaker and for the speakers father.
Many of the words and the overall diction in this poem seems violent and aggressive, with words like "rage" "curse" "blaze" and "fierce," but the overall meaning of the poem is not aggressive. When putting these words together the speaker creates a sympathetic feeling out of aggressive words, which has a powerful effect on us readers. The ability of this author to take words that already have a predisposed connotation and manipulate them to mean something completely different shows how the use of language and diction can create unique results.