Themes of Darkness and Death in "Do Not Go Softly Into That Good Night"One of the forms of analysis and criticism that is best used in many works is analysis of archetypal images. Many words and objects are images that have much deeper meanings and values ​​than you, as a reader, take at face value. Many of the words and phrases in Dylan Thomas's “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” reveal the poem's underlying theme of darkness and death. One of the archetypal images that Thomas uses is that of the wise old man. “Though wise men ultimately know that darkness is right, because their words have forked no illumination, they do not go meekly into that good night.” This passage talks about wise men who fail. The archetypal definition of the wise man is one who possesses the qualities of intuition, wisdom, intelligence, a spiritual principle, and much more. But other than the fact that these men are wise, their words still mean nothing. This passage gives the reader an unmistakable picture of the darkness in the lives of even those who are wise. A second image that portrays this theme is the fourth stanza of the poem. “The wild men who have caught and sung the sun in flight, and find, too late, that they have grieved it in its path, do not go gently into that good night.” Here the image of the sun represents the passing of life. And men, who have caught the sun too late and grieved it on its way, give us the image that the sun is setting. Or, as it might be interpreted, the sun of that day is dying. Here too we have a passage that gives us a clear picture of darkness. And here too we see Thomas referring to death. One of the strongest, if not the strongest, images of darkness and death is shown in the last two lines of the poem. “Don't be gentle in that good night. Anger, anger against the death of the light. The death of the light here shows us the darkness: the ultimate darkness.