The Villanelle is a closed form poetic structure with five tercet stanzas and ending with a quartet stanza. It also uses an aba rhyme scheme and is in iambic pentameter. One special rule that Villanelles follow is that the first and last lines of the first stanza must be alternated at the end of the other tercet stanzas and both must be repeated at the end of the quartet stanza. In "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night", Dylan Thomas utilizes the repetitive rhyme of the Villanelle to strengthen the message of his poem.
The first stanza introduces the theme of the poem and the two repeated messages, "Do not go gentle into that good night/ Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (lines 1, 3). From here on, these two lines alternate at the end of every other stanza. This not only makes the Villanelle's aba rhyme scheme easier to accomplish but also forces the reader to remember these lines. This helps associate the content of stanzas 2-6 with the poems main theme of never quitting or dying without a fight.
Stanzas 2-5 describe different men. The ambiguity of each description allows the reader to speculate as to who these men could be and what is their purpose in life. Each stanza also defines its' group of men with an adjective. They are either, Wise, Good, Wild, and Grave. Alternatives to these words such as Intelligent, Decent, Uncivilized, and Evil suggest that Thomas is including all men into his poem. By doing so Thomas sends the message that all men, no matter what spectrum of profession or personality they belong to, always fight before relinquishing their lives.
The aba rhyme present throughout the poem also strengthens the idea that all the men mentioned in Thomas' poem must follow the same pattern of life. Another message in this poem that the Villanelle supports is that everyone exists in a cycle in which people die, but that does not mean that they should not struggle to survive.
The final quartet stanza introduces the narrator's father. His mentioning associates him with the other four men. It is especially apparent that the father is dying when the narrator says that he is, "...there on the sad height" (16). The poem ends with the narrator pleading to his father to continue fighting death by repeating the two aforementioned lines. What is interesting is when the narrator says, "Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray" (17). It appears that the narrator prays to his father, alluding that his father might already be dead. His death is a curse and a blessing upon him because he misses his father and learned the lesson that he repeats.
Hey Shane, I could not agree more with your interpretation of Dylan Thomas’ "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”. The overwhelming emphasis to “Rage, rage against the dying of the light" and to never give up on life without a fight is definitely the theme of this poem. I like the way you relate the rhyme and stanza structure to the true meaning of the poem. When Thomas says, "Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears”, is quite the paradox. How can one be cursed and blessed at the same time. I think he knows his father is near death, but he longs for the “curse” of his father’s presence. He hopes his father will fight for his life and reward (bless) him with the fierce tears of defiance. Great blog Shane, I really enjoy your writing.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE how you pointed out that the aba rhyme scheme implies that men follow the same life pattern. I did not notice that but I completely agree. I would have liked to have read about your analysis and thoughts on his choice of the rhymes “night” and “day.” It’s amazing how you notice every little detail. I enjoyed your entire blog. You have good points and it is well written. Nice job!
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