Do not go gentle into that good night
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Do not go gentle into that good night, a villanelle composed in 1951, is considered to be among the finest works by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953). Originally published in the journal Botteghe Oscure in 1952, it also appeared as part of the collection "In Country Sleep." Written for his dying father, it is one of Thomas's most-quoted works. 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”.
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[edit] Influence on Art
Since the poem was published, many artists have used the work as a source of inspiration for their own works: Igor Stravinsky wrote a musical piece in 1954, In Memoriam Dylan Thomas, that included the poem to honour the deceased poet. It was scored for mezzo-soprano and piano in 2001 by Wayne L. Davies as part of a Dylan Thomas song-cycle[1]
In 2004, the musical artist Donovan sang the full poem to his own original music as a track on his album Beat Cafe.
Philippine punk rock band The Jerks used Thomas' poem as the backdrop for their song "Rage."
Welsh musician John Cale has set the poem to music, the song was published on his 1992 live album Fragments of a Rainy Season.
Canadian author Margaret Laurence cited a few lines from the poem in the beginning of her novel.
[edit] In Popular Culture
In "The Shakespeare Code", a Series 3, 2007 episode of Doctor Who, The Doctor (David Tennant) repeatedly quotes Shakespeare with the Bard's (Dean Lennox Kelly) response "I'll use that"... He quotes Thomas's "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," which the Doctor says Shakespeare cannot use as it's "Somebody else's."
In Back to School, Rodney Dangerfield is asked to recite the entire poem from memory in order to pass his final English exam.
In "Independence Day", Bill Pullman references it in his speech to the troops preparing to attack the alien invaders
