Analyze the rhyme scheme and structure of the middle four stanzas of “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” (excluding the first and final stanzas). Why might have Thomas structured his poem this way?

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” is a poem by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, first published in 1951. Though the poem was dedicated to Thomas’s father, it contains a universal message. The poem encourages the dying—the sick and the elderly—to fight bravely against death. The poem also celebrates the vibrancy and energy of human life, even though life is fragile and short.

Read the full text of “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Summary

Don’t calmly and peacefully welcome death. The elderly should passionately fight against death as their lives come to an end. Resist, resist the oncoming darkness of your death.

Smart people at the end of their lives understand that death is inevitable—but, because they haven’t yet said anything startling or revolutionary, nothing powerful enough to shock the world like a bolt of lightning, refuse to peacefully accept death.

Good people, seeing the last moments of their lives pass by like a final wave, mourn the fact that they weren't able to accomplish more, because even small actions might have moved about joyously in a "green bay"—that is, could have made a difference in the world. So they resist, resist the oncoming darkness of their deaths.

Daring people who have lived in the moment and embraced life to the fullest, metaphorically catching a joyful ride across the sky on the sun, realize too late that the sun is leaving them behind, and that even they must die—but they refuse to peacefully accept death.

Serious people, about to die, realize with sudden clarity that even those who have lost their sight can, like meteors, be full of light and happiness. So they resist, resist the oncoming darkness of their deaths.

And you, dad, are close to death, as if on the peak of a mountain. Burden and gift me with your passionate emotions, I pray to you. Do not go peacefully into the welcoming night of death. Resist, resist the oncoming darkness of your death.

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Themes

Death and Defiance

In “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” the speaker acknowledges that death is inevitable—everyone dies, sooner or later. But that doesn’t mean that people should simply give up and give in to death. Instead, the speaker argues that people should fight, fiercely and bravely, against death. Indeed, the speaker suggests, death helps to clarify something that people too often forget—that life is precious and worth fighting for.

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” tries to teach its readers how to face death. It starts with a basic fact: death is inevitable. As the speaker says in line 4, “wise men at their end know dark is right.” In other words, they recognize that they can’t escape from death. But that doesn’t mean that these “wise men” simply accept death. Instead, the speaker, notes they “do not go gentle into that good night.” They resist death, trying to win more time and more life. The speaker treats this as a model for other people to emulate. The speaker wants people to “rage, rage” against death: they should “burn and rave”—fight fiercely and bravely—as their lives approach the end.

One might wonder, though, why the speaker wants people to fight against death if it is ultimately inevitable. The speaker answers this question by describing a series of different people—“wise men,” “good men,” “wild men,” and “grave men”—who do fight against death. When these people are confronted with death, they realize that they haven’t accomplished everything they want to—and they fight for more time. For instance, the “wise men” in lines 4-6, realize that “their words” have not “forked […] lightning.” In other words, wise as they may be, they haven’t changed the world or created new knowledge. They fight against death so that they can have more time and make a bigger impact on the world.