Is there a better poem than Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night?"?

Question

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 so 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.


Dylan Thomas

Answer 1

That one, 'rage, rage against the dying of the light!' was top of my list for quite some time. Then, as I grew older, another took it's place. Sad to say, senior moment, it slipped my mind, but I have faith it will return...I want to say John Donne, but that could be another in the same key as Thomas.

It was by John Donne, "Death be not Proud." Now, in this moment, when I look at the both of them...for different reasons I have to balance them out for me.

Death Be Not Proud
by John Donne_(1572-1631)

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
----
It's apparent Thomas is more contemporary...however...

Answer 2

I'd have to say it's all a matter of opinion and what, exactly, you've been exposed to and what genre of poetry you're looking to compare. The notion of good, better, best, in terms of poetry, is strictly construed by the individual, whereas society as a whole may embrace or reject a certain piece or author. If you're interested in finding something that caters to your own taste, try camping out at your local library for a couple of hours and reviewing the compilations of poetry from the turn of the century. It was there that I found a poem called "the Kleptomaniac." I wrote it down and brought it home, but it was lost and to this day I can't say where that piece of paper is. But at least now I know that even in those big, stinky books that just seem to rot for no one's benefit, there is some literary insight into the way the human emotions operate from year to year, all the while portrayed similarly from generation to generation. If you're interested in poetry, start writing. Maybe yours is the best after all.

Answer 3

I love that poem! I used tom have a tape of dylan thomas reading that poem till it got ate. I was so upset

Answer 4

It's along the same theme, but my favorite has always been "Ulysses" by Tennyson

Answer 5

Yes, but it is a good poem.