Do not go gentle into that good night.

In my 102 class we have recently started reading and reviewing poetry. Poetry can be difficult to read at times, because sometimes the writer’s message doesn’t come across clear. Besides a few miss reads here and there I genuinely like poetry (maybe more than stories) and I have written a few of my own pieces. The piece I will be discussing for this post is “Do not go gentle into that good night.” by Dylan Thomas. With every verse there is one central idea that ties them all harmoniously, and that is the motif of death. There are six stanzas all with the same rhyme structure, which in turn helps each to blend together. There are also two lines that are repeated on and off again “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” and “Do not go gentle into that good night.”  These lines suggest that Dylan’s view on death should be something men do not just willingly accept, but rather “rage” against the light. The light is a symbol for life and the good night or darkness is the symbol for death. There are 4 archetypal men that Dylan expresses; the wise, good, wild and grave. Each of these men acts differently towards death, almost as if going through a set of steps or motions particular to dying.