Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
"Do not go gentle into that good night", a villanelle, is considered to be among the finest works by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953). Originally published in the journal Botteghe Oscure in 1951, it also appeared as part of the collection "In Country Sleep." Written for his dying father, it is one of Thomas's most popular and accessible poems.
The poem has no title other than its first line, "Do not go gentle into that good night", a line which appears as a refrain throughout the poem. The poem's other equally famous refrain is "Rage, rage against the dying of the light".
Read more about Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night: Analysis, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words gentle and/or night:
“But tell me: how did gold get to be the highest value? Because it is uncommon and useless and gleaming and gentle in its brilliance; it always gives itself. Only as an image of the highest virtue did gold get to be the highest value. The giver’s glance gleams like gold. A golden brilliance concludes peace between the moon and the sun. Uncommon is the highest virtue and useless, it is gleaming and gentle in its brilliance: a gift- giving virtue is the highest virtue.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Around, the night drops swiftly down
Its veils; does not condemn
Or praise the different actions done.
The hour that strikes across the town
Caresses all and injures none
As sleep approaches them.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)