gentle into that good night
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Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
—-
Dylan Thomas
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So.
Every once in awhile I am reading and come across something that I think I knew (or had heard) but am reminded of its brilliance in its use of words and the combination of words and how you feel when you read them.
This is one of them.
“Do not go gentle into that good night.”
Whew.
I am not sure there are many stronger lines written out there. Written by Dylan Thomas (not Bob Dylan).
There are only six stanzas in “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night” (and each stanza is awesomely crafted).
It is an incredibly simple poem with some complex aspects. It is not only about death and dying but also about life and how it is lived.
Dylan encourages us to believable it is not honorable or befitting for a great or interesting person to die quietly in old age. To think that death is something that should be fought rather than accepted.
It is a statement about living a strong life and refusing to go quietly.
“Old age should burn and rave at the close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of that light”
In his own poetic way he suggests we go out in a blaze of glory.
I do love the way he makes darkness dying light (an obvious metaphor for death) and that “burn” suggests brightness, light, and life.
I do love the way he suggests that interesting people fight death because they feel there is yet more to do.
And. I will admit.
It made me think about people who live life to its fullest.
They are kind of like bull in a china shop life livers.
They do not ‘go gentle’ in life.
They refuse to go quietly.
I envy these people.
And I know one thing for sure.
Ok.
Two things.
First is that these type of people make all of our lives more interesting (even as they bull through even our own lives breaking things along the way).
Second is that those people will surely refuse to ‘go quietly.’ They will not ‘go gentle into that good night.’
All I can say is thank god for those people.
They remind us that life is often not lived best gently.
Here is the full poem:
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.
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What is the name of the artwork in the first image image above and who is artist ?
Sorry, please ignore the above comment – I’m not referring to the link mentioned but to the image at the top of this page with the ghostly figure walking across the wooden stumps. Please could you provide me with information about it?
Many thanks!