Do Not Go Gentle Analysis Essay

Submitted By zayhigh
Words: 493
Pages: 2

The purpose of Dylan Thomas in this villanelle is to voice the passion he feels for his father to fight the inevitability of death. Several instances of man fighting against the light are stated, with each being more powerful than the last. The poem is decorated in assortments of strong diction, shifting tone, and life symbolism. The effects of these devices get the purpose of Dylan Thomas accomplished while personalizing it for the reader as well. Strong diction convinces the listener to fight against the “dying of the light”. By telling all the reasons man should fight the end of their life, the speaker uses vivid and outstanding examples. The most notable example is “how bright their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay” (Line 7). This is demonstrating how the people in this position feel that the impact they left on this world was beneficial, but worthless in the long run. They wish to be remembered and that is their drive to fight for their life. Thomas points this out to the listener, along with other examples, in the hopes that the fire to resist the allure of death will show itself in the man before it is too late. A shifting tone demonstrates how the author wants the listener to take the words he is speaking to heart. In the first five stanzas, Thomas is generalizing the importance of fighting against the end of life. “Wild men”, “Good men”, and all other kinds are just examples to contrast the situation that is facing the listener now. By generalizing the lesson, you get a point across but its importance may not be fully understood. Thomas accounts for that problem by addressing the dying man, his father, directly. In doing so, he reveals emotion that brings the entire lesson back to the point: that he wants his father to fight off death, even if it can’t be avoided.