"Old age should burn and rave at close of day, Rage, rage against the dying of the light"Y or N to this poem?

Question

What are your thoughts on this poem?
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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.

Answer 1

This superb piece has been a favorite of mine for years; wondering about the truth of it is the whole point, I imagine.

I expect that everyone knows it was from Dylan Thomas that Bob Dylan took his name.

Answer 2

A sentiment that I can not really agree with. To hold back dying by just refusing to die is okay for a young man. Say a soldier in the prime of his life. Then of course, rage and beat back eternal darkness in order to live!

But a senior, who has lived a long and full life. Who is dying because the body is giving out--to rage that the end is coming too soon is counterproductive. The end is coming because the body can no longer support life. So raging would only make it end that much sooner. Better yet to study the last of your life with wide open eyes and be thankful for a last look at loved one's faces, than to rage at fate and miss them all.

So Dylan Thomas's words are appropriate for younger men (and women) who might be facing their deaths prematurely. But certainly not a senior who is dying at their appropriate time.

Gilpers 302 has said it all.

Answer 3

This is a very famous poem--one of the most famous in the English language written during the 20th century. I'd say technically it's very good; it was written by Dylan Thomas, but i think the ideas in it are overrated. One size doesn't fit all, even on dying. Suppose you are the type that just wants to relax and enjoy the fruits of a long life by reading or taking nature walks? should you feel you're doing the wrong thing? that's on a literal level. The 'subtext' of the poem could be more profound, but I don't think most people would bother to examine it, so the obvious message is the one I'd consider, and I don't necessarily agree with it for the reason I just gave.

Answer 4

To each his own. I believe the purpose of a good life is to prepare for a good death with no guilt for the past mistakes, no longing for things undone, no regrets. Live each day to its fullest while looking forward to moving to the next level in the game of life. It is not an end, but a new beginning. The book of the Egyptians we call "The Book of the Dead" they called "The Book of the Coming Fourth By Day." Think about it. No I will not rage against the coming dark, but enter the coming dawn of a new life. As I was born into this world, so I will, with joy, be born into the next. When I come before the judge, be it Jesus, Osiris, or another and am asked, "What did you do with your life on earth?" I will say, "Lord I lived it to the fullest. I drained the cup dry and have no regrets. I came here prepared."

Answer 5

The poet wrote this of course with his father in mind. I wish that Thomas had raged against the bottle in this manner, because he might have lived longer. These words were written from the point of view of a young man who had fought some but by no means all of life's battles. Perhaps if he had drank less and survived to an old age he might have accepted the natural end of the life cycle not to as something to be fought, but something to relax into, like a comfortable chair.

Answer 6

Say to someone who has stopped loving life and has given up, maybe you should RAGE, But to someone who has mellowed, has and receives love, and who loves life, rage is not the word. Anger is in rage, and it is useless to be angry you must die; rather splurge on emotions, on zest, on being engaged, on sharing wisdom, and playing with children.

Do not go passive into that good night,

Old age should burn with feeling and explore at close of day;

Light a fire despite the the waning of the light.

Though wise ones at their end know dark must come,

Remember how they lived to face the lightning, they

Do not go silenced into that last night.

Humans, who lived so that even frail deeds were spent to

show they lived, at the last wave choose their deeds to give

and take delight, still try how to dance in a green bay,

Accept and smile to explore the dying of the light.

Passionate ones who sang the sun in flight,

never regret what faults they learned to change,

and do not go gentle into that good night.


And so, near death, they see with blinding sight

how love can blaze like meteors or glow like embers in a
nestled hearth,

Lie back, and trust the universe to take them to the dying of the light.

And you, my loved ones, seeing me on the final height,

Laugh, remember, bless me now with your fierce joys, I pray.

As I do not go passive into that good night.

Answer 7

A big N. The more you learn to accept the inevitable, the less you suffer. And what can be more inevitable than Death? When I am coming face to face with my Maker, I'd better go with a gentle frame of mind, not rant and rave.

Answer 8

That poem is wonderful I also liked the bumper sticker
"Old Age Aint For Sissies".

Answer 9

Dylan didn't last that long. He drank himself to death. I am not going to rage but leave laughing.

Answer 10

its hard for me to interpret but my guess is that they are saying to fight death and do not accept your fate on one hand
but on the other hand they are saying, even though they learned lifes lessons too late do not regret them. I can't really tell unless its a combination of things, which is the only other way of putting it. sorry! I tend to really analyze things.