Rage, Rage!

I had to read Dylan Thomas' poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" a few times before the meaning really hit me. Once it hit me, though, I could not get the words out of my head. This poem really speaks to me because I agree with what Thomas is saying full stop. Don't you dare go gently into that good night, don't die without a fight!

I have always strongly believed that one should live their life to the fullest at all times, and after reading this poem I must add "die to the fullest" to that philosophy. Death is an inevitable part of life - a part that many people fear and do not easily accept. I have come to terms a long time ago with the fact that death is coming but that will never stop me from raging right into that light.

As for the poem itself, I really like how it is kind of split up into a few parts: wise  men, good men, wild men, and the grave men. Each of these different types of men have definitely lived very different lives, but in the end there is the same outcome and they all must face that outcome the same, as Thomas begs, to rage against the dying of the light and to not go gently into the good night. This is a universal message and I really appreciate that.

The ending really stuck out to me - the part about his father - because it reminded me of the Atmosphere song "Yesterday". I don't want to ruin the beauty of this song so you can listen to it here:

Keep reading once you have finished the song please (listen to it all the way through because you won't get the song's full effect until the end....)


Sean Daley, the lead rapper in Atmosphere, remembers his relationship with his father in this song and thinks of the hardships the two of them experienced in their lives and the difficult relationship they had. This reminds me much of the end of "Do not go gentle into that good night" because at the end Thomas asks his father, despite their relationship, to not go gentle into the good night and to fight against death and leave his life by raging against the dying of the light. I feel the two (Daley and Thomas) are much alike in their relationships with their fathers - although they had a hard time during their fathers' lives, they both felt the same love and shared the same hopes for their fathers during and after their deaths.

All in all this poem is very good, and I am ever so grateful that I have been exposed to it because I can now add it to the collection of poems that I really love and truly agree with!

Thanks so much!
Cat ~ meow