Villanelle

Erin Conley
Mrs. Jernigan
AP English Lit
22 March 2011
Villanelle
Dylan Thomas explores his feelings regarding death in his poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” He shows that everyone is fighting against the inevitability of death. He explores many types of people in each stanza to show the reader the despair and dissatisfaction of the people who are dying. He utilizes this tactic to show the human state of always craving more from their lives and never being content with what they have become, even on their last day.
Thomas shows how the people are going to “rage against the dying of the light” to get as much out of their lives as they can. He then starts with the “wise men” who are not appeased with the outcome of their lives because “their words had forked no lightning,” meaning they feel that their impact was not great enough on the world. Next, the “good men” cry about their “frail deeds” to show that despite their seemingly serene lives, they are still fighting the end out of despair. Then, the “wild men” come and they are not happy because they have come to realize “too late” that they have wasted their lives. Lastly, the “grave men” now that they are near death are now able to see all the joy they missed out on in the world.
The poem then becomes personal and the reader then realizes the whole reason this poem has been written. Thomas' father is dying. You can see the emotional torment as he says “curse, bless, me now,” a changing of mind caused most likely by the pain, because he does not want his father to leave him. He pleads with him to fight death and to not let death take him easily. Thomas seems to be taking an extremely pessimistic view on human nature, because he alludes to the fact that we are never satisfied, no matter what kind of life we lead. He seems to hint at his own personal fear of dying and offers no anecdote for the reader, which causes uneasiness, a feeling I believe he intended for the reader to grapple with after they read his poem.