So this generation is like a wave, death is like the breaking of the wave on the shore, the sea is like life, and the dancing waters in the ocean are like beautiful actions.Or, to use the metaphor in the poem, as their wave crashes against the rocks, the men shout how beautifully that wave could have danced in the bay if it could've stayed out at sea instead of rolling onto the beach.As they approach death, these men shout out how great their actions could've been if they'd been allowed to live longer.Next, Thomas adds an image of the ocean waves the most recent generation of good men, the "last wave by" (line 7), are about to crash against the shore, or die.In the speaker's opinion, true goodness consists of fighting the inevitability of death with all your might: "Good men Rage, rage against the dying of the light." The basic parts of this sentence are the subject, "Good men" (line 7), and the verb, "Rage" (line9).Once again, the best way to understand how all these poetic images work together is to untangle Thomas's sentences, which are all twisted up so that they fit the meter and form of the villanelle.Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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