"Rage, rage against the dying of the light." (Line 3)
My initial reaction to this poem was an image of some kids sitting in a circle daring each other to do stupid stuff. The speaker is practically egging the "wise men," "good men," "wild men," and "grave men" on and trying to get them to defy the toils of old age and live it up. It feels like he is just yelling at them to live life to the fullest. In a sense, he wants them to "go crazy, paint your bodies" while they're still living in this beautiful life. The purpose of this poem is to motivate men and, more specifically, the speaker's own father to forget that they are old, forget that they are nearing the end of their time on earth, and "burn and rave at the close of day." The "close of day" in this instance is a symbol for death. The poem progresses from the first five stanzas that are generic and directed at all of human race to the main subject of the poem: the speaker's father. The speaker deliberately preceded his plea to his father with support for his theory and by implying that the entirety of humanity will also be shedding the bonds of old age and living life until they die. It is a simple task for his father to honor his son's wishes and join the rest of society in a perpetual party until death.
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