013: Dylan Thomas – Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

– Dylan Thomas

This was drawn by Eastfist. Check out more of this stuff on his page.

You might recognise the poem as “that Interstellar poem” from the movie. The movie Interstellar was great, but they didn’t make up that poem just for the cool space scenes. The poem originates from Dylan Thomas, a 20th century Welsh poet. This poem isn’t his only one, but it’s one of the most popular ones. You can check out his poetry books, called Twenty-Five Poems, (or you can just find and read them online).

If you don’t understand the poem (or the comic) don’t be alarmed. I didn’t catch it the first time I read it too, and I had to read a poem analysis just to understand it better.

The poem is actually about the poet’s father. In a nutshell, the poet is asking his dying father to live his remaining days well, instead of simply slipping away into death. Everyone will die one day, and to me, the poem means living life to the fullest despite this fact.

I have extrapolated the poem to also mean that it is about being in the game and playing well, even in the face of defeat. Winning isn’t everything. Maybe you can’t win every game, but you can find joy in playing. Is this a game you really want to be in, if you only play to win and nothing else?

I hope you can derive some deeper meaning from this poem and it’s comic interpretation. If you find your own meaning from the poem or your own interpretation, please let me know in the comments below.