Good Night Metaphor

Words: 814
Pages: 4

Throughout the poem the use of metaphor has shown up multiple times. A metaphor is comparing something without using the word “like” or “as”. One example of a metaphor is “That good night,”(1) which shows up numerous times leading readers to believe that “Thomas knew that death was right”(Going Deep into Dylan Thomas’s Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 1). He uses this metaphor to avoid using the ugly word of death. Thomas avoided using the word death to strongly get the point across that people need to fight for their lives. Another metaphor that came up was “the dying of the light” (3) “Which suggests peaceful surrender” (Going Deep into Dylan Thomas’s Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 1). Since Thomas really wants to get the point …show more content…
In line one it says “Do not go gentle into that good night”. As discussed before, night is a metaphor for death. It is ironic that he says he does not want people to die, yet he is calling death good. This could show that Thomas has worries about his life after death and what will happen to him. According to “‘Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night’: When a Psychiatric Hospital Closes,” Thomas may have a conflict within his soul between his belief in the afterlife and his passion for life and earthly existence. This shows much importance because he uses this same paradox four times throughout the poem. He uses this to get his point across that you can not just accept your death you need to fight for your …show more content…
Anaphora is the repetition of a word at the beginning of a line. This poem does not only repeat the same word over at the beginning of a line, but also repeats a whole line. Four lines start off with the word “rage” and follow up with their line saying “Rage, Rage against the dying of the light” (3). “Do not go gentle into that good night,” (1) also appears four times in the poem. Repeating words and lines gives strong emphasis on why people need to avoid death as all cost possible. Overall, “Do not go gentle into that good night,” has many literary devices to explain the theme of the poem. Through examining these devices, one can figure out the true meaning behind the poem. Without these devices being in the poem there would not be enough structure to make the poem enjoyable and something to learn from. Therefore, by using metaphors, paradoxes, assonances, and anaphoras one can pick apart what the poem is really