Pun. A pun is a play on words, one that wittily exploits a double meaning. As you read “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,” look for the pun in stanza 5.
Symbol. A symbol is a thing that stands for or represents both itself and something else. As you read, decide what night and light symbolize.
Villanelle and Rhyme Scheme. A villanelle is a complex and intricate ninetenn-line French verse form. The rhyme scheme is aba aba aba aba abaa. The first fifteen lines are organized into three-line stanzas, or tercets. The first and last lines of the opening stanza are repeated, alternately as the last lines of stanzas 2–5 and the concluding couplet of the last stanza, which is a four-line quatrain. A rhyme scheme is a pattern of end rhymes, or rhymes at the ends of lines of verse. The rhyme scheme of a poem is designated by letters, with matching letters signifying matching sounds.
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Dylan Thomas’s poems are rich with imagery and music. Reading his first works, critics thought of him as a wild Romantic. However, it soon became clear that Thomas was a serious craftsman. “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” shows Thomas’s technical mastery. This poem, written about the approaching death of his father, is an example of the complex French verse form known as the villanelle. It may well be the finest example of the form ever produced. It is certainly the most famous.
Write out the words that correspond with the a and b rhymes in the poem. The first stanza has been done for you.
Are you afraid of death? Explain.
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