Dylan Thomas's short poem on death, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," uses rhyme and repetition to cast a spell of sorts over the reader (or listener) and at the same time to awaken him or her to the urgency of living life to its fullest to the last moment.
Thomas uses not only end-line rhymes, but also internal rhymes, and even repetition of syllables to both lull the reader with an almost lullaby-like rhythm, at the same time that he is delivering both a disturbing and inspiring message about the crossroads of life and death.
The first three lines establish the pattern for the whole poem: "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" (Kennedy 872). "Night" and "light" are not unexpected rhymes, but in this profound context the meaning of that rhyme is heightened. "Night" is often used as a symbol of death, and "light" as a symbol for life, or consciousness, but again, in the context of his message, Thomas has put fresh power into these old rhymes.
It is important to note also that the rhymes do not stand alone. It is not "night" which the poet urges the dying man to rage against, but rather "the dying of the light," the end of life in this world as we know it. He is not suggesting that we should be terrified of death, for he calls it "that good night," suggesting either an end to our troubles, or some transcendent peace or bliss which is "good."
The poem is an example of a villanelle, which means that there are only two end-line rhymes which are repeated again and again. In this particular poem, those rhymes are "ight" and a long "a" sound. One effect of this is to give the impression that the poet is facing head-on the issue at hand, straightforwardly making his case with no desire to impress the reader with fancy tricks of the trade.
This is life and death we are talking about, he is saying, and there is no need or des...