It is not till the very end of Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" that the reader is allowed to realize that the poem is not written as a glorification of the dead but for a loved one, his father, which brings the great contradiction of the whole poem to light- the poem is not about facing death with bravery, 'Old age should burn and rave at close of day; / Rage, rage against the dying of the light' but a son who loves his terminally ill father and cannot stand the thought of losing him, 'And you, my father, there on the sad height, / Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray'.
Content and Style
This poetic barrage can be witnessed throughout the poem in both the style and the content. Firstly we are presented with the words 'wise', 'good', and 'wild'- all with very positive connotations. These are then confronted with the same characters being pinned as 'grave men near death'. The form of the poem is called a villanelle which was commonly used for light and simple poetry. The fact that Thomas has used it to discuss such a grim subject emphasizes the futility of asking a weak man to be strong just like asking a poem that usually deals with light topics to somehow change the way death is portrayed within its own poetic conventions. The concept of day and night are used back and forth within the poem itself 'Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rave at close of day' to emphasize the
Personal Context
The poem can also be better understood when put into the context of Thomas's personal life and relationship with his father. Thomas's father who had been an English teacher was known to run his classroom in a very militant type fashion. The way Thomas issues commands that are repeated over and over again, 'Do not go gentle into that good night' has an air of classroom instruction which no doubt resonates his father's personality. The very fact that such a strong man had turned into the weak man of the poem would have no doubt shocked Thomas who dealt with the state of his father's inevitable death by issuing commands he knew could not be fulfilled, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light". This sums up the first five stanzas which issue even more commands and idolize the state of all the old men who are fighting against death till the last breath.
Resolution
In the last stanza however the son emerges as the poet who turns into a pleading boy asking to see his father and the way he use to be once again. He understands full well that his father is approaching death but he still pleads with him to shout and scream and cry, to see his father 'rage' one last time would be the blessing that the young son is so desperate to experience in order to remember his father by.
