Themes of darkness and death in "Do not go gently into this good night" One of the forms of analysis and Criticism best used with many works is the analysis of archetypal images. Many words and objects are images that have much deeper meanings and values ​​than those you, as the reader, take literally. Many of the words and phrases in Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" reveal the poems' underlying theme of darkness and death. One of the archetypal images used by Thomas is that of the wise old man. “Though wise men at their end know that darkness is good, because their words bring no light, they do not enter gently into that good night.” This passage is about wise men who fail. The archetypal definition of the wise man is one who possesses the qualities of insight, wisdom, intelligence, a spiritual principle and much more. But aside from 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 depicts this theme is the fourth stanza of the poem. “The wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight and learned too late that they saddened it on the way, do not enter gently into that good night.” Here, the image of the sun represents the passage of life. And men, who caught the sun too late and grieved it on the way, give us the image that the sun is setting. Or, as it could be interpreted, the sun on this day is dying. Here again 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 go easy on that good night. Rage, rage against the death of light. The death of light here shows us darkness: ultimate darkness.