“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight”
By Dylan Thomas
Activity 1: Take notes on the poetic form that is the villanelle.
Activity 2: Read and deconstruct the following prompt.
In the poem below, the speaker addresses his elderly father who is sick and close to death. Write an essay
in which you explore the progression of tone as well as how the author’s use of language reveals purpose
and meaning in the poem.
● What is the abstract question that you must answer?
● What concrete elements should you pay attention to as you read the poem?
● What does the information in the prompt tell you about the persona of the speaker?
Activity 3: Read the poem carefully, marking at least one major shift (dividing the poem into at least two
parts).
Activity 4: In the left column, list the significant actions or observations that the speaker offers as support
for his argument/claim.
Activity 5: In the center (text) column, mark diction, imagery, and figurative language that reflects or
reveals the speaker’s thoughts and feelings about the situation.
Activity 6: In the right column, define the speaker’s responses, and note what the marked text reveals
about his responses (What are his thoughts and emotions, and how does the use of language reflect them?).
LIST Significant
thoughts/examples the
speaker offers:
1. Speaker wants his
father to fight for his life,
even though he is old.
MARK diction, imagery, figurative language, that
reveals the speaker’s thoughts and emotions.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight
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,
5 Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
DEFINE the speaker’s
response based on the
language the poet uses to
express the
thoughts/emotions/argument
.
1. Words/short phrases such
as “Do not go,” “should burn
and rave,” “rage, rage” and
“against” illustrate how
Thomas wants his father to
approach life’s end.
