Conformity/Rebellion Poem-- Haley Longworth

Do not go gentle into that good night By Dylan Thomas 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. "Poetry is man's rebellion against what he is." It is inevitable that humans die and our lives end, but it is not something a lot of people want to think about because it is hard to comprehend. This poem written by Dylan Thomas expresses the fear we have of death and how urgently we want to fight it. He is rebelling against man and the cycles of our lives through his poem, saying "do not go gentle into that good night" and "rage, rage against the dying of the light." Also, by the last stanza we, as the audience, can tell that his father is near to death and he is begging him do keep on living and fight for a little longer because he doesn't want to see him go. It will always be a part of human nature to die, but it is not something we feel comfortable about.