Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night Flashcards
Do not go gentle into that good night
Consonance (in this case repetition of n + t sounds) - adds emphasis to the main message
“Good night” - metaphor, dying is a transition from day to night (used as an extended metaphor throughout)
Old age should burn
Metaphor - suggests even at the end of life you should still have the strength to fight death
Rage, rage against the dying of the night
Repetition (of “rage”) - emphasises the message of passionately fighting death
Though wise men at their end know dark is right
Extended metaphor of night and day
Means they know they have to die, but even they still fight it
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night
Enjambment - heightens tension as pace quickens, which could reflect the energy needed to fight death
Good men, the last wave by
Stanza shows how everyone, including morally good men, should fight
“Last wave by” metaphor - the final surge of life before death
(Good men) crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced
Suggests they feel they led insignificant lives, regret not doing even more good
This is why they fight death
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight
“Wild men” - refers to people who lived life with no inhibitions
“Caught and sang the sun in flight” - suggests they lived life with no concerns, sun symbolises youth, life, vitality, again referring to the day/night extended metaphor
They grieved it on its way
They are grieving the life that passed them by - suggests they regret having a carefree life without substance, so they fight death
Grave men
Means serious people - opposite of the other stanza about “wild men” - shows that no matter how you live your life, you should still fight death
Who see with blinding sight
Polyptoton - adds emphasis to this line
Oxymoron (“blinding sight”) - suggests that dying gave them the ability to perceive things in a more significant way
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay
Simile (“could blaze like meteors”) - use of the word “could” highlights the men didn’t live life to the fullest, resulting in regret
And you, my father
“And” - shows all previous examples were intended to persuade his father
This line reveals the poem is speaking directly to his father, encouraging him to fight death
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray
Use of religious language - suggests the speaker is looking for divine intervention, shows speaker’s desperation
“Fierce” - shows speaker wants his father to be strong/passionate in his battle with death
Structure
Villanelle - rigidly controlled rhyme scheme reflects the speaker’s rigid focus on one thing, fighting death
Lots of end-stopping - adds confidence/conviction to the tone of the poem
Iambic pentameter - mimics the sound of a heartbeat, reflecting the speaker’s passion (message from the heart)
Refrains (do not go gentle… and rage, rage against…) - they move from being instructions to descriptions then to advice for his father at the end
Refrain
Line that is repeated throughout a poem
Villanelle
Rigidly controlled rhyme scheme
Powerful end rhymes
In do not go gentle - there are only two rhymes in the entire poem (-ight and -ay/-ey)
Villanelles as a whole simply have very few rhymes in the
