Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

Aryamoy Mitra

Have you heard of Dylan Thomas' 'Do not go gentle into that good night'? I imagine that the majority will have chanced across his works at large, in some capacity. This one, is a testament to the valiance that lurks underneath the human psyche. He devised it whilst paying homage to his blindsided, and soon to be deceased father. By happenstance, I realized that Christopher Nolan had repurposed it into Interstellar's narrative locus. It's pretty terrific, and has a multiplicity of humanistic constructs. What are your thoughts on it? I've placed it below.

Here's an arrangement, of an evocative reading of the poem, to accompany: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ESWzPhZWYeI

Do not go gentle into that good night;
Old Age should burn and rave at the 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.

ArguingWAristotleTiff

Have you heard of Dylan Thomas' 'Do not go gentle into that good night'? I imagine that the majority will have chanced across his works at large, in some capacity. — Aryamoy Mitra

I have in fact been entranced by the words you have shared. I did not know the interpretation of the author as you explain here so I drew my own conclusion.

I heard a part of it and it grabbed my soul and I needed to find out if there were more words than that excerpt, as it felt very biblical in proportion to me but not about the person.

No, this is talking about the very democracy we as Americans, in this great experiment, hold together with both hands with all we have. That RAGE is what, at times, is needed to protect against the threats of our freedoms. Both forgien and most recently domestic threats. In my humble opinion we are blinded by the very fact that the problem lays within us. The wolves walk among us and it is within our power to change but as you know, change is hard.

baker

Grammatically, why does it say "Do not go gentle into that good night", when there should be an adverb there, "gently"?

ArguingWAristotleTiff

If you haven't seen this performed lately I saw it last night by Rodney Dangerfield in the movie "Back to School". :lol:
It really is a deeply passionate poem.

Aryamoy Mitra

↪baker

Artistic license, in all probability.

baker

↪Aryamoy Mitra

But why in this place? Artistic license isn't a matter of whim.

Aryamoy Mitra

↪baker

Artistic license accords expressive liberty, irrespective of wherein it manifests. As long as it doesn't detract from or obfuscate the precise meaning of a statement, it is designed to be accommodated for.

Going 'gentle', on a sidenote, may not be lexically incorrect; 'gentle' merely describes the state of an agent 'going' somewhere - it doesn't have to qualitatively characterize how that agent is headed.

ArguingWAristotleTiff

Rage is the power I have felt exuding from the writing.
Steely rage awoken in a Momma Bear who has the courage to do what needs to be done before it's required.

Valentinus

↪Aryamoy Mitra

Good point. Your observation reminds me of the coined phrase: "don't go postal on me."

Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

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