Do not go gentle into that good night
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.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Non andartene docile in quella buona notte
Non andartene docile in quella buona notte,
I vecchi dovrebbero bruciare e delirare al serrarsi del giorno;
Infuria, infuria, contro il morire della luce.
Benché i saggi conoscano alla fine che la tenebra è giusta
Perché dalle loro parole non diramarono fulmini
Non se ne vanno docili in quella buona notte,
Gli onesti, con l’ultima onda, gridando quanto splendide
Le loro deboli gesta danzerebbero in una verde baia,
S’infuriano, s’infuriano contro il morire della luce.
Gli impulsivi che il sole presero al volo e cantarono,
Troppo tardi imparando d’averne afflitto il cammino,
Non se ne vanno docili in quella buona notte.
Gli austeri, prossimi alla morte, con cieca vista accorgendosi
Che occhi spenti potevano brillare come meteore e gioire,
S’infuriano, s’infuriano contro il morire della luce.
E tu, padre mio, là sulla triste altura maledicimi,
Benedicimi, ora, con le tue lacrime furiose, te ne prego.
Non andartene docile in quella buona notte.
Infuriati, infuriati contro il morire della luce.
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS - Do not go gentle into that good night
“Do not go gentle into that good night” is a poem written by Dylan Thomas for his dying father.
Just considering the title, the intelligent reader finds some curiosity that pushes him/her to make a sense to the speaker’s point of view. Moreover he/she makes conjectures about the poem’s content. Indeed, why not go gentle into that good night? Why get mad? The two questions are a sufficient reason to go on reading the text.
The poem revolves around a clear metaphor, in which day symbolises life, while night symbolises death. At first the title suggests a rebellion, suggests not to accept the possibility to die. Throughout the poem we can notice the repetition of the title (“Do not go gentle into that good night”). It is a kind of refrain that Thomas used to stick it to the reader’s mind.
Simply giving a glance to the layout you can easily realise the poem is arranged into six stanzas; the first five stanzas contain three lines, while the last consists of four. There is a regular pattern. Indeed, the poem follows a very precise rhyme scheme (ABA, and ABAA in the last stanza). The reading experience allows the reader to discover that each stanza performs a different function and has have different meanings, that the reader must find if he/she wants to understand the poem.
1- The wise men: they have understood that the end is inevitable and perhaps they have also accepted it. However, they are not happy. They were wise, but no lightning came from their words, so what was the point of being wise? However, their words were useless and the ignorance they do not have will not be able to preserve them from the fear of dying
2- The honest are not only not "docile" in their journey, but they are furious. Their deeds have been totally meaningless and they feel full of regret, unlike the, perhaps lighter, remorse of the sages. They have wasted their lives waiting and now cry out how many wonderful actions they could have done if only they had had more time. The reality is that they haven't used what is available to them.
3-The impulsive spent their lives amidst pleasures and frivolities, fleeing from burdens and duties, spending their time purely in the enjoyments of life. Without then concluding anything concrete, nothing that has cost some effort, nothing that allows them to feel fulfilled. So, deep down, they are not calm.
4- The austere, on the contrary, have been dedicated to duty and work and have forgotten to enjoy life to the full and now they cry and get angry about it. They should have been more impulsive.
So the message of the poem urges us to find our way and even if we fail in this enterprise, which sometimes seems impossible to us, sometimes it seems useless, sometimes it doesn't even arouse interest, we must, when death comes, not give up , do not "go gentle into that good night ".