In the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight," Dylan Thomas repeatedly refers to death and dying. Through structure, tone, and poetic devices, Thomas creates a morbid atmosphere that can be rivaled only by death, hence the numerous references to the foreboding presence, death.

Thomas's structure builds up the existence of death, in order to give the poem a premonition of death and the devastation it wreaks. The aba rhyme scheme applies throughout the first five stanzas, and allows for a familiar rhyme throughout the poem. The familiarity and lyrical quality is ironic, especially when death is "near" throughout the poem. Death is unpredictable, unforgiving, and harsh. The comfort of consistency and a song-like attitude is in direct contrast with the ominous nature of death found throughout the poem. The first stanza alerts the reader that death is creeping into the poem when "old age" and "close...