Seventh Reading

The poem I chose was a poem that my group and I discussed while in class. I read "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas.

I usually read parts of a poem over and over again to try and understand its message. However, I read it straight through one time and tried to piece together what I could. The only thing I understood was that the author was telling others to fight death even though death is inevitable. The experience I felt when reading it the first time was that of having a vague understanding of the message as well as utter confusion with certain phrases in the poem. "Because their words had forked no lightning they do not go gentle into that good night" continued to trip me up as I read it a third and fourth time. Still, I was able to ascertain that each stanza is linked together with the same message. Each stanza describes different men-- wise men, good men, wild men, grave men-- and that their thoughts towards death are different, but all the same the author tells them to continue fighting against the cold grasp of death's fingers. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." The experience when reading it the seventh time was that of full comprehension with the connection the author has with the poem as well as who the author was writing this for. "And you, my father, there on the sad height..." Thomas wrote this for his father, who was probably dying of old age. I really became connected with the poem by the time I had read it a fifth time, so the experience overall went pretty well. The meaning and purpose of the poem is now sealed with hot wax in my mind and I'm glad that I can now identify what I need to know when it comes to that AP exam I'm so dreading.

I apologize for the late update. I'm stupid.