Post 9 Conformity and Rebellion Karl Werner

"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"- 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.

Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets. Web. 7 Nov. 2014.

Value is attributed to that which is scarce and fleeting. The most mesmerizing and terrifying valued resource is human life. Our mortality inspires and scares us. It is the villain who always triumphs in the end. This poem by Dylan Thomas calls upon those who are coming face to face with death to not accept their fate. He demands they "rage against the dying of the light". Death is not to be accepted passively; this poem speaks of raging and writhing with final breaths. People of all different sorts ("Wild men", "Grave men", "Wise men", "Good men") experience death one and the same, and all are encouraged to fight it. The poem's author is experiencing the passing of his father. This message of fighting mortality has a personal touch for him. His sadness and anger at this unavoidable tragedy of human life leads him to rebel against the concept of death.
Beseeching his dad to "not go gentle into that good night", the author rebels against mortality and loss through encouragement of others to "rage"against it.