Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Name:

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
by Dylan Thomas

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.

Questions:

1. What does the speaker want to hear?

2. Whom is the speaker of the poem addressing?

3. What should old age do according to the speaker?

4. Whose eyes could "blaze like meteors" even though they are near death?

5. What type of men does the speaker say know that "dark is right"?

6. What kind of men have "caught and sang the sun in flight"?

7. Discuss how death is presented in the poem. Cite details from the poem in your description.

8. Explain what "wise" men realize before they die.

9. Describe the speaker's attitude towards death in the poem. Cite details from the poem.

10. Cite three metaphors that are used for death. What tone is created by these metaphors?

11. Do the lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" suggest different moods? Explain your answer.

12. What effect is created by the repetition of the lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying of the light"?

13. Find an example of an oxymoron in the poem, and explain the oxymoron.

14. Find an example of personification in the poem.

15. Find an example of a simile in the poem. Explain the comparison that is being made.