Skip to main content

In "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night," who is the speaker addressing?

The speaker directly addresses his father in the last stanza of the poem. However, generally, he is addressing all men (and I do mean men, as I do not think that women figured in Thomas's imagination for this poem) who see their lives coming to an end.

He considers different types of men, though he does not directly connect his father with any of them. First, there are "wise men":



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.



These men know, because they are wise, that they must die ("know dark is right"), but resist death because their wisdom has not had the desired impact on the living ("their words had forked no lightning"). 


Then, he contemplates "good men":



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.



The "good men" are described as both friendly ("wave by") and sorrowful because they are "crying." They cry because their ambitions for a better world never came to fruition; instead, they were "frail deeds." The use of the modal phrase "might have" makes it clear that they had potential to create an environment that would have been fertile for hope ("a green bay").


Next are the "wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, / And learn, too late, they grieved on its way..." These, arguably, are the ones who loved life too much and lived very much in the moment ("sang the sun in flight"). 


Finally, there are the "grave men...who see with blinding sight / Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay..." These are the men who were serious, perhaps even prone to sadness, and failed to grasp life's meaning, only to understand in death. The irony is caught by the phrase "see with blinding sight." Their vision, or understanding, becomes so exquisite that it [blazes] and they become "gay."


All of these men realize the finality of death and have epiphanies on their death beds which could have improved their lives; but, alas, it is too late. Thomas switches the final line of each stanza back and forth between "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" and "Do not go gentle into that good night." The message reads as a mantra. The latter, "do not go gentle," reads as an entreaty, while the imperative "rage, rage" is a battle cry, addressing the anger within each group of men -- all of whom may represent parts of the narrator's father:



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.



His father is "there on the sad height," or the precipice from which he stares "into that good night." It is the same place from which the others see "dark" and develop "blinding sight." He has "fierce tears." What is interesting is that the father is described only through the actions he performs while on his death bed. There is no clue to his interior state, or what he may be thinking, as there is with the men that the narrator conceptualizes. This suggests a disconnection with the father that the narrator hopes to overcome with any form of communication ("curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray"). With "I pray," the narrator is given the final power and delivers -- in sadness, desperation, and false hope -- the full mantra: "Do not go gentle into that night / Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What are some external and internal conflicts that Montag has in Fahrenheit 451?

 Montag, the protagonist of Fahrenheit 451, faces both external and internal conflicts throughout the novel. Some examples of these conflicts are: External Conflicts: Conflict with the society: Montag lives in a society that prohibits books and critical thinking. He faces opposition from the government and the people who enforce this law. Montag struggles to come to terms with the fact that his society is based on censorship and control. Conflict with his wife: Montag's wife, Mildred, is completely absorbed in the shallow and meaningless entertainment provided by the government. Montag's growing dissatisfaction with his marriage adds to his external conflict. Conflict with the fire captain: Montag's superior, Captain Beatty, is the personification of the oppressive regime that Montag is fighting against. Montag's struggle against Beatty represents his external conflict with the government. Internal Conflicts: Conflict with his own beliefs: Montag, at the beginning of th...

In A People's History of the United States, why does Howard Zinn feel that Wilson made a flimsy argument for entering World War I?

"War is the health of the state," the radical writer Randolph Bourne said, in the midst of the First World War. Indeed, as the nations of Europe went to war in 1914, the governments flourished, patriotism bloomed, class struggle was stilled, and young men died in frightful numbers on the battlefields-often for a hundred yards of land, a line of trenches. -- Chapter 14, Page 350, A People's History of the United States Howard Zinn outlines his arguments for why World War I was fought in the opening paragraph of Chapter 14 (referenced above). The nationalism that was created by the Great War benefited the elite political and financial leadership of the various countries involved. Socialism, which was gaining momentum in Europe, as was class struggle, took a backseat to mobilizing for war. Zinn believes that World War I was fought for the gain of the industrial capitalists of Europe in a competition for capital and resources. He states that humanity itself was punished by t...

Where did Atticus take the light and extension cord in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus brings the light to the courthouse jail so that he can protect Tom Robinson.  Atticus learns that Tom Robinson, his client, is in danger.  A group of white men want to prevent the trial and lynch Robinson. He is warned by a small group of men that appear at his house.  He refuses to back down.  Atticus knows that the Cunninghams will target his client, so he plans to sit up all night with... Atticus brings the light to the courthouse jail so that he can protect Tom Robinson.  Atticus learns that Tom Robinson, his client, is in danger.  A group of white men want to prevent the trial and lynch Robinson. He is warned by a small group of men that appear at his house.  He refuses to back down.  Atticus knows that the Cunninghams will target his client, so he plans to sit up all night with Jim if that’s what it takes to protect him.  Atticus tells the men that he will make sure his client gets his fair shake at the law.  “Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he’s not going till ...