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Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Meaning of Dylan Thomas' Famous Villanelle About Death

Discover the meaning of Dylan Thomas' famous villanelle about death with an audio recording of the poet reading his.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night is a villanelle by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. First published in 1951, the poem is one of Thomas' best-known works and is often read at funerals and memorial services.

The poem's title is a reference to the famous line from Shakespeare's play Hamlet: "Gentle into good night." In this context, the word "gentle" can be interpreted as meaning "kind" or "merciful." However, Thomas uses the word "good" in a more ambiguous way. It could be interpreted as meaning "heaven" or "the afterlife," or it could simply be a reference to the fact that death is inevitable.