Good Night

4 Aug 2026 | Glory | 0 comments

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.
Dylan Thomas (1914-53)

Notes from the Compiler

Dylan Thomas addresses his own ageing father, who was an atheist, as the last example of his 'Grave' men who face an inner struggle with their personal limitations. 'Wise' men confront their unfulfilled dreams. 'Good' men face their disappointment in unachieved ambitions. 'Wild' men, possibly like the poet himself, struggle with drink, debts and adultery. All of them, 'Grave' men, sun-bathing in their dreams, albeit at the same time disappointed in their hopes. But they do more than just just exist! They live to their end! Dylan Thomas believed it was a good goal. And the distinguished paediatrician and psychoanalyst, Donald Winnicott (1896-1971) according to his wife, agreed with Thomas as his own death drew near: 'Oh God! May I be alive when I die.' However, S. Paul's hope is explicit: 'For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain' (Philippians 1:21). .

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