Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight

Great Find #1: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight poem

One of the most haunting piece of literature to exist, Dylan Thomas' poem entitled, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight". The truth is, that's not actually the title, the poem has no title itself. It's just a line that appears as a refrain throughout the poem. According to Wikipedia, it is suggested that Thomas wrote this poem for his dying father, although he did not die until just before Christmas 1952. This poem, although unbeknownst to many, have actually been used in popular culture. One of the most notable times its been used is in the 1952 film, Independence Day and in one of my most favorite movie by Christopher Nolan, Interstellar.  Before we discuss what's so great in this poem, here is the poem itself: 

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.

Beautiful, isn't it? But even better, listen to Dylan Thomas recite his own poem in this youtube video uploaded by the channel blogaboutpoetry. 

I've found that video when I was randomly clicking to youtube's suggestions sidebar. Indeed, I was very lucky to stumble upon that video. It was haunting to the ears and into the soul. But what does it really mean? 

When I first heard it, I knew it was about death. But because I am not familiar with a lot of the words used in the poem, I admit that I didn't fully understand the poem. So, I did a research on it. And upon knowing what it really meant, the poem became more special to me. And one of the best interpretation I've ever read of the poem is by a Quora user, Ryan Kelly, a software engineer.

The essence of this poem is struggling to survive; pressing on to live as long as you can in the face of death, even if it means suffering.
To summarize, the theme of this poem applies to Thomas and his father. Both were struggling to survive.

Do not go gentle into that good night
Don't succumb to the peaceful release of death.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Struggle against death, referred to here as "the dying of the light."
Dylan connects all men together--wise men, good men, wild men--by writing that they all will face death. When they do, he urges them to fight--"rage"--for more life, rather than gracefully slipping into darkness. No matter what these men have done with their life, good or bad, they shouldn't give up the struggle for more.

And now, whenever you're facing a hard obstacle in your life that you think you can't succeed on, remember this poem. Listen to it if you'd like. Sit down for a while, put on your headphones and listen. 

After that, go and rage into the dying of the light! 



So, what do you think of the poem? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!