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. == Form ==

The villanelle consists of five stanzas of three lines (tercets) followed by a single stanza of four lines (a quatrain) for a total of nineteen lines. It is structured by two repeating rhymes and two refrains: the first line of the first stanza serves as the last line of the second and fourth stanzas, and the third line of the first stanza serves as the last line of the third and fifth stanzas. == Analysis ==

Summary In the first stanza, the speaker encourages his father not to "go gentle into that good night" but rather to "rage, rage against the dying of the light." Then, in the subsequent stanzas, he proceeds to list all manner of men, using terms such as "wise", "good", "wild", and "grave" as descriptors, who, in their own respective ways, embody the refrains of the poem. In the final stanza, the speaker implores his father, whom he observes upon a "sad height", begging him to "Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears", and reiterates the refrains once more. Literary opinion While this poem has inspired a significant amount of unique discussion and analysis from such critics as Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Westphal, and Walford Davies, some interpretations of the poem's meaning are under general consensus. "This is obviously a threshold poem about death", Heaney writes, and Westphal agrees, noting that is advocating active resistance to death." Heaney thinks that the poem's structure as a villanelle upon itself, advancing and retiring to and from a resolution" ==Use and references in other works==

Igor Stravinsky's composition In Memoriam Dylan Thomas is a setting of the full text of the poem. Other composers who have set the poem to music include Vincent Persichetti (1976) Elliot del Borgo (1979), John Cale (1989, on Words for the Dying) and Janet Owen Thomas (1999, in the final movement of her Under the Skin). Electronic musician Richard Burmer composed "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" for his last album, Treasures of the Saints (1992), which was accompanied by a recording of Thomas reading the poem. Additionally, lines from the poem are featured in the song "Intro" from G-Eazy's album ''When It's Dark Out'' (2015). The poem is also read in full on Iggy Pop’s album Free (2019). Art "Do not go gentle into that good night" was the inspiration for two paintings by Swansea-born painter and printmaker Ceri Richards, who created them in 1956, and 1965. Literature The poem influenced the writing of Mircea Cărtărescu's novel Solenoid (2015). The poem is referenced in the title of Derek Landy's "Skulduggery Pleasant: The Dying of the Light", the ninth installment of the Young Adult fantasy series Skulduggery Pleasant. The poem is referenced in writing in Yi Shi Si Zhou's "Little Mushroom: Judgement Day", the second installment of the danmei Science Fiction duology Little Mushroom. Film The poem is prominently referenced in Interstellar (2014), where the poem is used repeatedly by Michael Caine's character John Brand, as well as by several other supporting characters. It also features in the 1986 comedy Back to School where Thornton Melon, played by Rodney Dangerfield, is required to recite the poem during an examination. Television The poem was performed by British comedian Diane Morgan (who regularly interrupted it with fart noises) for a comedy challenge in Season 2 of the Amazon Prime Video show Last One Laughing UK. The title of Series 11, Episode 6 of Shameless, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That... Eh, Screw It" references the poem. Video games Version 2.2 of Zenless Zone Zero by Mihoyo/HoYoverse is named after the poem. Version 3.3 of Honkai: Star Rail, another game developed by the same company, added an achievement named "Rage Against the Dying Light". == References ==