Listen to a Reading: “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Dylan Thomas. "Do not go gentle into that good night," from Dylan Thomas Reading His Poetry (AUDIO) by Dylan Thomas. Copyright (P) & © 1964 and 1991 by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

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. "Do not go gentle into that good night" from The Poems of Dylan Thomas. Copyright © 1952 by Dylan Thomas. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

Suggestions for Responsive Reading

After listening to Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night, consider the question(s) below. Then “submit” your response.

  1. To read along or not to read along. Either way is fine but for different reasons. If you read the text for the first time as you listen, you’ll likely find it more accessible and fluid, particularly if the syntax and style is unfamiliar to you or is set in a remote historical period. On the other hand, a first reading together with a recording might also short-circuit your own initial response to the work and interpretation of it. If this is a second or third reading as you listen, you’ll hear more clearly the interpretive possibilities the reader has chosen to emphasize, thereby making you more aware of the work’s (and the reader’s) subtleties. Which option did you choose? How do you think it impacted your understanding of the text? Do you wish you had selected the other option?

    Question

    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
  2. Consider how well the reader’s voice and overall style of delivery is matched to the literary work. Describe the appropriateness of any regional accents, inflection, pronunciation, volume, rhythm, and pacing of the reading in order to explain how the lines are spoken serve to reinforce what is said. The degree of appropriateness becomes readily apparent if you imagine, for example, how you would describe the difference between a rendition of Emily Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly Buzz—when I Died” by Meryl Streep compared with, say, Sylvester Stallone (or Streep performing an audiobook version of First Blood). How well do you think this reader’s voice and style match up with this work? Why do you think so?

    Question

    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
  3. Determining the tone of a text is often the most challenging and important interpretive skill we develop as readers. Listening to a work read aloud, however, can be enormously helpful in establishing tone when we hear the nuances made apparent by an effective reader orally interpreting the text. Tone can convey any of the full range of human emotions. What do you think the reader’s tone contributes in this audio recording? How does it impact the way you understand the text?

    Question

    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
  4. If the oral reading isn’t what you expected, if it disappoints or surprises you, try to explain as specifically as possible why the performance differs from your expectations. Use the text to validate your own response, and indicate particular elements of the recording to support your assessment of the recording.

    Question

    pUmCHveXUmpwAMtriUXdAQ9Z/3V9zdiblPdv9euIOgFMmRdjiYST9A7lHw6fftOgFoXkdnUxDclCklGb3+nAgrK39TXe0zkKrvwZIlKYhB9oG/JwK7lyRZ57YQeFF+GUm6jFPRXXrQir1fmOpCc3Vwki3i3u82jIYhh7jAxuok3T8nXQ1iFBYXrS7ZujzA3UyIX59sk4I77zWyOPC4IgmRkij4Thj9RePu+1UxJvVagjHxArStaIyM2QWYgh59pYf0ZQl8W6MIB9BUiO0P7u0dTOtP0syYnxIwV5nmB+WSmQ1jLI1DIYaZ1cxgnhs9Jo28k1FHi8egzFqdMzBkTMcBrWoCnNp3nRPpDdB3Dxk9xkWhHQPYno0dhVUB4sL2hY3sQlcpFOyYq7m+bLN+UR+YS3hxj3r7gs34TRK6fZeH1eWW6L7j4adUyFH+jPsetHiiUB3ufB4wE=