Student Question
What are four indirect references to death in the poem?
Quick answer:
Dylan Thomas uses indirect references to death through phrases like "that good night," "close of day," "dying of the light," and "dark." These expressions convey the theme of death without directly naming it. The poem reflects Thomas's personal struggle with his father's impending death, urging resistance against death's inevitability. His language evokes deep emotion and personal significance, focusing on the universal human experience of confronting mortality.
Here are four ways that Dylan Thomas refers to death without naming it as such:
- "that good night" [line 1]
- "close of day" [line 2]
- "dying of the light" [line 3]
- "dark" [line 4]
Considered "a poet's poet," Dylan Thomas imbues language with a glowing magic that propels the reader onward through lines that seem to leap and cry out fiercely. In this poem death assumes an intensely personal meaning for Thomas as he addresses his dying father, urging him to fight against the blindness of waning life, and "rage, rage against the dying of the light," refusing to surrender to death until it finally overtakes him.
Clearly, the reader of this poem senses that death takes on an intensely personal meaning for Dylan Thomas in this villanelle [see link below] that lends a simplicity of rhyme to an profoundly emotional poem of a romantic wildness.
Thomas's diction in this poem is what one critic calls directed from an "overclothed blindness" to a "naked vision." Unlike such contemporaries as W. H. Auden and Stephen Spender, Thomas's poetry is free of political themes and overtones; his are intensely personal, drawn from his love of language and depth of feeling.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.
References