Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Death Unit: Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

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

This poem addresses old men and tells them to not accept death. "That Good Night" is a metaphor for death. The speaker points out that the wisest people do not just simply accept death but fight it in order to achieve everything they can in this life.The speaker then specifically addresses their father. They tell him to not give up and to not let death win without putting up a fight. They want their father's death to not just be a tragedy but also heroic knowing that he did everything he could to remain with his family.

The paradoxical expressions in the poem relate to how the father's death will seem if the father puts up a fight. "Curse, bless, me now", "the sad height", and "blinding sight" (Thomas, 968) all relate to the tragic but heroic death of the father would be if he fights. Though death is inevitable, the speaker thinks there is pride in fighting for life. For this reason, they stress the importance of fighting for their life.

No comments:

Post a Comment