Bossart 1

Kayla Bossart
Blandford
UWRT 1101-028
29 September 2015
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
The poem, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas, has a powerful
meaning behind it. Thomas, the rhetor, stresses how he wants his terminally ill father to defy
death, which is the rhetorical situation in this poem. The line, Rage, rage against the dying of
the light, determines the overall message that gives the idea to fight, and fight hard, until death.
Life should be the best it can be until last second. I believe Thomas is relaying this poem to the
people that are confronting death, telling them that they should, do not go gentle into that good
night, or to take their last breath with dignity and strength. Poetry and its other forms, such as
song lyrics, provide a literacy landscape by using different literacy devices such as themes,
symbols, imagery, and metaphors. Due to the use of poetic devices such as these, it makes
poetry have a more non-literal sense in the aspect that people usually look directly for the
meaning, but are unable to find it within the passage in regards to poetry. Even though the
significance in a prose piece may be difficult to figure out as well, poetry brings the more
emotional appeal to the reader. In todays society, poetry has altered our understanding of
specific meanings throughout the stanzas with the evolvement in how poetry is displayed.
The literary landscape is how the reader perceives the meaning of the poem and how
they envision it. In Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, there are multiple references to
images of light and fire that help tell that life should be lived with the utmost intensity, which

Bossart 2
otherwise gives the reader a sense of vision of what the poem is about.

Another theme

throughout the poem is the aspect of familial bonds. The son and the father both experience
weaknesses either due to not wanting another to die, or the one that is dying. Devices in poetry
such as these, give the reader a literacy landscape and a look into the authors thoughts.
Poetry and its other forms, such as song lyrics, give similar connotations to those of
prose pieces; however, poetry gives off a much different appeal, an emotional appeal. In both
poetry and in prose, there are a variety of devices to help display the meaning of the text, often
times making it difficult to understand by many people. While prose is more straightforward and
can be taken much more literally, poetry is deemed the opposite. The message can become very
ambiguous when reading a poem or other work similar to poetry. People tend to shy away from
this because they are unsure of the actual meaning being conveyed. The message is often hidden
throughout the stanzas loaded with imagery and metaphors. However, both types of literature
are stuffed with these literary themes, but the major difference is how people perceive the work.
Poetry is more emotional than prose due to the blissful use of assonances and captivating rhyme
schemes. Poetic devices sell the works emotional effect in a condensed manner. Overall, poetry
and prose are very similar in that they are perceived in similar ways.
In todays society, poetry is evolving from the Shakespearian Era of art thous and
do not go gentle into that good night to todays version of poetry, more commonly known as
song lyrics. Just like back then, music still has the common theme of emotion. However, songs
are easier to relate to due to the way they are written. People are dependent on music because it
is their way to escape from themselves; they provide the emotion that text cannot. Poetry has
progressed to music, altering the way we perceive certain feelings that are presented throughout
the stanzas.

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Overall, poetry has a very unique context, having progressed throughout the years. It
has gone from work such as Dylan Thomas poem discussed above, to songs for example, by
Tobey Keith. While one talks about the fighting death of an ill father, another expresses the
surpassing gratefulness of American freedom. The two are completely different in the content
and how they are relayed; however, they both give the emotional appeal to the listener. Due to
this appeal, it gives off a broader and greater literacy landscape than text, defining our
understanding of the literature.