Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) was a Welsh poet whose verse work is highlighted by "Do not go gentle into that good night" (both the accepted title and best known line of a 19 line piece). The themes of defiance towards and preoccupation with death recur in his work. Thomas also wrote more narrative prose pieces for use in lecture reading tours or on BBC Radio.

His most famous long-form work is the play Under Milk Wood. Depicting a small Welsh village and blending mundane activities with rich dream lives and unusual inhabitants, it was conceived as a radio play but briefly staged, readers theater style with Thomas as narrator, in 1953 a few months before the author's death. It was broadcast on the BBC, with the subtitle "a Play for Voices," in 1954, and later filmed in 1972 (with Peter O'Toole and Elizabeth Taylor).

References[]

• Oscar the Grouch reads a volume of the poet's works in Sesame Street Episode 0652, appreciatively muttering "Ah, that Dylan Thomas. Writes the stuff."

• The other famous line from "Do not go gentle into that good night," the refrain "Rage, rage against the dying of the light," was used in a Muppetisms segment (with author attribution) in which Statler and Waldorf take the concept literally, insulting a lamp whose bulb is visibly going out.

Connections[]

• Linda Bove played Mae Rose and Mrs. Owen in Songs from Milk Wood (1970, Broadway)
• Jack Dodson played Captain Cat, Butcher Benyon, Organ Morgan, and P. C. Attila Rees in Under Milk Wood (1961, off-Broadway)
• Brian Gascoigne scored Under Milk Wood (1972 film)
• Peter O'Toole played Captain Cat in Under Milk Wood (1972 film) and Lord Sarn in Rebecca's Daughters (1992 film)
• Rolf Sand played Baker Dai Bread in Under Milk Wood (1972, Norwegian radio)
• Manfred Steffen played Mr. Pritchard in Under Milk Wood (1954, German radio)
• Elizabeth Taylor played Rosie Probert in Under Milk Wood (1972 film)
• Andreas von der Meden played a child in Under Milk Wood (1954, German radio)
• Ed Waterstreet played Mr. Waldo and Owen in Songs from Milk Wood (1970, Broadway)