Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Examples

"Do not go gentle into that good night" is the title and first line of a poem by Dylan Thomas. The full text of the poem is below.

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.

The speaker in this poem is imploring the listener to truly live life to the fullest. "Do not go gentle into that good night" means that we should resist death. In many places throughout the poem, the poet implores those near the end of life to continue to live: "wise men at their end", "good men, the last wave by", "grave men, near death." The speaker says that "old age should burn and rave at close of day," meaning that even the elderly should continue to burn with life and "rage, rage against the dying of the light"-or the death of the human spirit.

In the last stanza, the speaker seems to implore his father who is close to death ("there on the sad height") to fight death and to "not go gentle into that good night."

This poem is one of Thomas' most famous poems, and was written at a time when he was a regular guest on a British broadcast where he read poetry and other writings aloud. The poem is rhythmic and haunting when read aloud.