Informational Timed Write Final Revision 46/50 

Prompt: ​Dylan Thomas’ poem “​Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night​” is a son’s plea to his dying
father. What is the son’s message to his father? How does Dylan Thomas develop this message over the
course of the poem?

Write an essay that discusses the theme and its development in the poem. Use textual evidence to
support your response. Have a clear introduction paragraph and several body(TEAS) paragraphs.

You have 25 minutes.

Response:

Death will always come. It came to Dylan Thomas’s father. Thomas wrote a poem to him as
a plea. A message he wanted his dad to know. The poem “Do not go gentle into that good
night” by Dylan Thomas shows his belief that death should be fought, and no matter how
enticing it may seem, it is wiser to stay away from the light. Thomas uses repetition over the
course of the poem to develop this message.
First, Thomas discusses how people should fight death with everything they’ve got left to
keep living as long as possible. Thomas repeats two different alternating phrases at the end of
each stanza, both with the same message: fight against death. These phrases are the title, “Do
not go gentle into that good night” (line 6), and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”(line
3). The first shows that you should fight when being forced into death. To not go gently is to
do the opposite and make a ruckus, to not allow it to happen easily. The latter shows how to
get the energy. In desperation, use everything - even rage - to try and stay away from the light
which represents death. Thomas doesn’t want his father to give up. In conclusion, the fact that
these quotes are repeated shows that’s what the author wanted his father to know: Instructions
to fight Death.
Thomas also compares his father to many other great men who have surrendered to death
prematurely. The meaning of each of the other lines is also repeated. The first line of each
stanza is about all the great men that have passed away, “Though wise men…” (line 4) and
“Good men…” (line 7). Thomas is comparing his father to these other men and giving him
these qualities. This is shown in the last stanza first line where the men should be, “And you,
my father…” (line 31). Thomas is explaining to his father that so many great men have given
up and succumbed to Death and to not follow in their footsteps. He wishes that his father kept
on living for as long as possible, unlike many others and therefore others as well.