GCSE English Quiz - Poetry - Do not go gentle into that good night

(Questions)
Dylan Thomas was a twentieth-century Welsh poet and author. His poetry is known for its lyric (musical) voice.
This poem, 'Do not go gentle into that good night', was written when the poet's father was dying. Sadly, Thomas died
shortly after, at the young age of thirty-nine. Read the poem (out loud is best) and then see how well you can
analyse it.

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 that 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

1. To whom is this poem addressed? 2. In which stanza does the reader learn who is
[ ] All good men addressed by the poem?
[ ] All wise men [ ] First stanza
[ ] The narrator's father [ ] Third stanza
[ ] The poem is not addressed to anyone [ ] Fifth stanza
[ ] Sixth stanza

3. 'The dying of the light' is a metaphor for... 4. In the second stanza, what does the poet mean by
[ ] sunset 'wise men at their end know dark is right'?
[ ] peaceful sleep [ ] Wise men know they shouldn't fight
[ ] death death
[ ] an argument [ ] Wise men know that death will win the
argument / debate
[ ] Wise men have decided to calmly
accept death
[ ] Wise men believe that darkness is
better than light

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5. Wise men's words have 'no forked lightning'. Which 6. With which of the following sentences would the
other phrase emphasises the weak and temporary 'wild men' most likely agree?
nature of human achievements? [ ] Life should be lived passionately and 'in
[ ] 'Rave at the close of day' the moment'
[ ] 'Their frail deeds might have danced' [ ] Life should pass by like the sun passes
[ ] 'Caught and sang the sun' overhead
[ ] 'Who see with blinding sight' [ ] Life should be lived cautiously
[ ] Life should be lived quietly

7. In the fifth stanza, what is the significance of the 8. 'Blind eyes could blaze like meteors' - what is the
word 'grave'? effect of this simile?
[ ] The poet is pointing out that the men [ ] It contrasts the lightlessness of blind
are dead and in the grave eyes with the blazing brightness of
[ ] The poet is writing about gravediggers meteors
in this stanza [ ] It reminds the reader that men, like
[ ] 'Grave' men are compared with 'wise', meteors, are failing and falling into
'good' and 'wild' men; also reminds the death
reader of the grave [ ] It reinforces the call to 'rage, rage
[ ] There is no significance in the use of against the dying of the light'
this word [ ] All of the above

9. In the extended metaphor of this poem, life is 10. The repetition of consonant sounds in words is
considered to be... called 'consonance' (when this occurs at the
[ ] darkness beginnings of words, it is called 'alliteration'). This
[ ] unbearable poem depends on consonance for its hard, harsh,
[ ] the span of one day angry effect. Which of the following lines is a good
example of consonance being used for a harsh
[ ] a full season
effect?
[ ] Rage, rage against the dying of the light
[ ] And you, my father, there on that sad
height
[ ] Curse, bless, me now with your fierce
tears, I pray
[ ] All of the above

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GCSE English Quiz - Poetry - Do not go gentle into that good night (Answers)

1. To whom is this poem addressed? 2. In which stanza does the reader learn who is
[ ] All good men addressed by the poem?
[ ] All wise men [ ] First stanza
[ x ] The narrator's father [ ] Third stanza
[ ] The poem is not addressed to anyone [ ] Fifth stanza
[ x ] Sixth stanza
In the sixth stanza, we finally read the line: 'And you, my
father, there on that sad height'

3. 'The dying of the light' is a metaphor for... 4. In the second stanza, what does the poet mean by
[ ] sunset 'wise men at their end know dark is right'?
[ ] peaceful sleep [ ] Wise men know they shouldn't fight
[ x ] death death
[ ] an argument [ x ] Wise men know that death will win the
argument / debate
In this poem, 'the close of day', 'the dying of the light' and
'that good night' all mean death [ ] Wise men have decided to calmly
accept death
[ ] Wise men believe that darkness is
better than light
'Wise men' are associated with 'words'. In this context,
'knowing' the 'dark is right' reminds the reader of those
people who use words to fight for what is right, while also
reminding them of those who fight their side of an argument
or case, trying to prove that it is right. Here, death is
ultimately going to be 'right' in the sense of winning, although
not in the sense of being just, or fair

5. Wise men's words have 'no forked lightning'. Which 6. With which of the following sentences would the
other phrase emphasises the weak and temporary 'wild men' most likely agree?
nature of human achievements? [ x ] Life should be lived passionately and 'in
[ ] 'Rave at the close of day' the moment'
[ x ] 'Their frail deeds might have danced' [ ] Life should pass by like the sun passes
[ ] 'Caught and sang the sun' overhead
[ ] 'Who see with blinding sight' [ ] Life should be lived cautiously
The achievements of good men, like those of the wise, are [ ] Life should be lived quietly
frail in the face of death. Interestingly, this view of the fleeting Caught up in their passionate enjoyment of life, 'wild men'
nature of human words and action is challenged by the are slow to realise the ultimate end of the journey - they don't
survival of Thomas's own poetry, including this poem spend their lives worrying about death, but they, like the
others, refuse to go quietly

7. In the fifth stanza, what is the significance of the 8. 'Blind eyes could blaze like meteors' - what is the
word 'grave'? effect of this simile?
[ ] The poet is pointing out that the men [ ] It contrasts the lightlessness of blind
are dead and in the grave eyes with the blazing brightness of
[ ] The poet is writing about gravediggers meteors
in this stanza [ ] It reminds the reader that men, like
[ x ] 'Grave' men are compared with 'wise', meteors, are failing and falling into
'good' and 'wild' men; also reminds the death
reader of the grave [ ] It reinforces the call to 'rage, rage
[ ] There is no significance in the use of against the dying of the light'
this word [ x ] All of the above
'Grave' means 'serious' - the serious men, like all the others,
will soon be in the grave (they are 'near death'). This play on
words is especially appropriate as we near the end of the
poem

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9. In the extended metaphor of this poem, life is 10. The repetition of consonant sounds in words is
considered to be... called 'consonance' (when this occurs at the
[ ] darkness beginnings of words, it is called 'alliteration'). This
[ ] unbearable poem depends on consonance for its hard, harsh,
[ x ] the span of one day angry effect. Which of the following lines is a good
example of consonance being used for a harsh
[ ] a full season
effect?
The metaphor refers repeatedly to the sunset, the end of the [ x ] Rage, rage against the dying of the light
day, the night. This is made explicit in the stanza about the
[ ] And you, my father, there on that sad
wild men catching the sun in flight, only to see it fall to earth
height
at the end of the day
[ ] Curse, bless, me now with your fierce
tears, I pray
[ ] All of the above
'Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray' - while
this line is also an example of consonance, it has a repeated
's' sound, which is much softer that the repeated 'g' sounds
of 'rage, rage against the dying of the light'. 'And you, my
father, there on that sad height' repeats the soft 'th' sound

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