The concept of death is a sensitive one—something we often do not want to think about. We are all aware about it, of course, but many of us haven’t really pondered the concept. We are too engrossed in the excitement the world brings, the swirl of chaos that is life. But if we were to stop for a moment and take a break to think, we have to understand the cold reality that our life will not last. Death is inevitable, death is universal, death is the ultimate end. And perhaps what makes death so truly terrifying is the fact that we don’t know what happens. Perhaps there is an afterlife. Perhaps it’s just an eternal slumber, a deep and dreamless sleep. And yet, none of us truly want to find out. Through all of this, a question is raised: is the purpose of our existence to live life, or is our purpose to avoid death? In the poem  “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night,” Thomas conveys his own perspective on death by use of repetition and contrast, believing that our purpose is to live our lives to the fullest, something that can only be done by fighting against death. 

Repetition is a prominent literary technique utilized in the poem, serving to convey the importance of fulfilling our lives. In the poem, the lines “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” are repeated in every stanza. Here, death is represented by the darkness—that is, the night and the dying of the light, a common portrayal of death in our society. As a result, the speaker is trying to tell the reader that death is something to be fought against. In addition, the use of repetition serves to convey a sense of urgency and desperation; urgency and desperation are only bred from a sense of something’s importance. Clearly, the speaker believes that these lines are the most important in the poem and should be taken most seriously; that is, the fact that we must fight against death. Repetition is thus used by the speaker to articulate the importance of fighting—the importance of not willingly giving in to death, which in turn conveys the importance of life. Thus, we can understand the speaker’s perspective: life is precious and we should fight against death to keep hold of it. 

Repetition in the poem also serves to convey the universality of death. In the beginning of the stanzas in the poem, Thomas writes “wise men at their end know dark is right,” “Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright,” “Wild men, who caught and sang the sun in flight,” and “Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight.” Thomas utilizes repetition to describe all four of these men; they all have led different lives, all have different identities, and all have had different experiences, but all of them must face death in the end. As a result, the fact that death is universal is evident here, as everyone, no matter how different they are, will meet their end. However, this fact should encourage all of us to fulfill our lives. Because all of us will meet death eventually, it is all of us that should cherish our lives as well, something that further articulates the importance of living that Thomas is trying to convey. Everyone has to make different choices, everyone has different regrets; however, everyone should learn to live life meaningfully. 

Thomas uses contrast and contradiction as another device to demonstrate the conflicting interpretations of death. Throughout the poem, the line “Do not go gentle into that good night” appears to be a contradiction in itself given the contrast between death and the idea of death being something good. Additionally, in the final stanza, Thomas writes “Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray,” which is again, a contradiction, seeing as how death is described as both a blessing and a curse. At first glance, the portrayal of death makes it seem like an enemy; death is something we need to fight against, something that brings the end to our lives and takes away from our fulfillment. However, Thomas, by describing death as a “good” thing as well as describing it as not a curse, but as a blessing, is attempting to convey otherwise. We must understand that death itself is a natural process; death brings balance, control, and stability. Death is not a bad thing, and that is what the author is trying to express. The author is not outright rejecting the idea of death and turning away; rather, he is embracing it as a blessing and acknowledging its purpose. He understands that we should not avoid death, as death is not the enemy; rather, he is imploring us to fulfill our lives and leave a positive impact on the world. Death is the end, yet this end is what gives life its meaning—a curse and a blessing. However, there would be no meaning if we just willingly accept death so easily; we must fight against it to give life that meaning and that purpose, but ultimately embrace it in the end once fulfillment is achieved. 

Death is certainly an interesting topic to cover, with its many different interpretations and approaches, but Thomas conveys through his poem that we must fight against death such that our lives can have purpose and meaning, but we must inevitably embrace it in the end once we are fulfilled. Thomas conveys this message through the use of repetition to articulate life’s importance and the universality of death, while also using contradiction and contrast as devices to convey his own unique perspective. Life is precious; it was given to us as a gift and we must cherish it for as long as we can. We all have goals and dreams, things we want to accomplish, places we want to go to, relationships we want to form, happiness we can achieve. Life is like the blooming of a flower—short, but sweet. Life is like music—a beautiful symphony of highs and lows. Life is like a palette of colors—we can create our own painting and use the brightest colors to prevent them from fading away.