Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

The poem begins with the speaker...

addressing an unknown listener, urging him not to "go gentle into that good night".

What these poems are required to have is an intricate rhyme scheme and two lines that are refrains - like refrains in songs, they get repeated over and over. The rhyme scheme is ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA, so there are only two rhymes that end all the lines.

What shows this poem is a vilannelle?

What type of poem is this? (Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night)

A villanelle

How can we tell that this poem is a villanelle and uses iambic pentameter?

It has nineteen lines divided into five three-line stanzas and a sixth stanza with four lines. In English, they tend to be written in the common metrical pattern called iambic pentameter, which means ten syllables per line, with every other syllable stressed, starting with the second syllable. So the lines will sound like this: da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM. For example, the second line of this poem is, more or less:

Old age should burn and rave at close of day

The meter, however, isn't required in order to make it a villanelle - we just thought we'd mention it.

What does the night symbolize?

death

To whom is the speaker addressing?

At first men in general and then his father

What is the theme of this poem?

Life is short and we should hold on to it

What line from the poem supports this theme of the brevity of life?

"Rage against the dying of the light"

In your own words, what advice does the speaker give to old people?

To hold on fiercely to your life

What does the speaker say about wise men?

That they know that dark is right

What does the speaker say about good men?

That they cry about the things they did wrong

What does the speaker say about wild men?

That they live how they want and when death comes it is too late

When do we notice that the speaker is the poet?

when he uses "me" and "I" in line 17. We have to shift our opinion of the speaker and his perspective once we're blindsided with the first-person stuff in the last stanza.

Thomas is using the speaker of his poem to say

things to an imaginary father that might have been too difficult to discuss face-to-face to his own father, or that his father (who was dying at the time) wouldn't have had the energy to hear or understand. He is Thomas's alter ego, composed of autobiographical elements, but still not quite the same as the man himself.

How does Thomas create a musical feel to the poem?

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" is harsh but lyrical, jarring but hypnotic. It's halfway between listening to monks chanting in Latin and listening to officers shouting orders at their troops. The repeated lines, called refrains, and the use of only two rhyming words give the poem a singsong quality.

How does the sound of the poem reflect the main idea Thomas is trying to portray?

Thomas uses harsh consonant sounds, often alliterated, to give the poem an explosive feel. He also omits soft endings on words wherever he can - notice that his choice of "gentle" in the first line, instead of the more grammatically correct "gently," makes the word end on the strangling consonant "l" instead of the sweeter long "e" sound. The poem also has as few linking words and conjunctions as possible; connections happen through commas instead, as in "Rage, rage" and "Curse, bless." This means there are more stressed words in the poem, which adds to the feeling of a strong, intense rhythm.

What poems can it be linked to (theme of death)

Remember and La Belle Dame Sans Merci

What poems can it be linked to (theme of love)

Sonnet 116 and Poem 39