# Do not go gentle into that good night **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919 "2007-05-05T20:48:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/1 "2007-05-05T20:48:01Z")
Naturally, being the good, nitpicky Doper that I am, when I saw [this cartoon](http://www.thenewyorkerstore.com/product_details.asp?mscssid=VEA86VAV9JKR9K5M0JGF3ANNVW077MF3&sitetype=1&did=4&sid=123565&pid=&keyword=died+peacefully§ion=cartoons&title=undefined&whichpage=1&sortBy=popular), I thought immediately that I could improve on Gahan Wilson’s work by changing the word “peacefully” to “peaceful.” After after, based on the drawing, he had to have been referring to her inner state, not modifying the way in which she died. (She’s in a yoga headstand position, dead, w/ paramedics in attendance.) The caption: “Well, at least we know she died peacefully.” Even Dylan Thomas gives on some guidance on this. Any thoughts on this, or other examples, Dopers? ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/2 "2007-05-05T23:33:29Z")
I’d say it could go either way. I’m hard pressed to think of a cause of death that would both not disrupt such a delicate yoga position and be considered a not peaceful mode of death. So she died peaceful and peacefully, and “peacefully” sounds better in that sentence anyway. ---
**Author:** ![BobPi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@BobPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobPi)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/3 "2007-05-06T00:23:50Z")
I thought it was a funny cartoon (and I’d go with “peacefully” myself) but $125 for a small print!? At that price, I want the signature to be original and to be personally thanked by Mr Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/4 "2007-05-06T01:47:13Z")
No, I don’t think you could improve upon Mr. Wilson’s work. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/5 "2007-05-06T03:03:36Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] No, I don’t think you could improve upon Mr. Wilson’s work. [/QUOTE] No, of course not. How old is he? _Fantasy and Science Fiction_ carried his cartoons in the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![BobPi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@BobPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobPi)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/6 "2007-05-06T03:11:26Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] No, of course not. How old is he? _Fantasy and Science Fiction_ carried his cartoons in the 60’s. [/QUOTE] Wilson was born not far from here in Evanston, IL in 1930. So he’s about 77, not too old for his line of work. Not that it should matter. With his sense of humor, I’m sure he’ll still be producing funny cartoon even decades after his death. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/7 "2007-05-06T03:26:08Z")
[QUOTE=BobPi] With his sense of humor, I’m sure he’ll still be producing funny cartoon even decades after his death. [/QUOTE] Good point. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/8 "2007-05-06T03:30:53Z")
I found my favorite Gahan Wilson [cartoon.](http://www.gahanwilson.com/) I first saw it in Fantasy & Science Fiction in black and white. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/9 "2007-05-06T03:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] I found my favorite Gahan Wilson [cartoon.](http://www.gahanwilson.com/) [/QUOTE] I’ve always liked [this one](http://www.gahanwilson.com/pbc1eyedoc.htm). I think I first saw it in an illicit copy of _Playboy_ when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/10 "2007-05-06T03:45:08Z")
[QUOTE=Spatial Rift 47] I’d say it could go either way. I’m hard pressed to think of a cause of death that would both not disrupt such a delicate yoga position and be considered a not peaceful mode of death. So she died peaceful and peacefully, and “peacefully” sounds better in that sentence anyway. [/QUOTE] Agreed. You could use “peacefully” to describe the process of death or “peaceful” to describe the state of the person while dying. I’m fine with “peacefully,” it “sounds” better, but I can see where someone would want “peaceful.” ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/11 "2007-05-06T04:20:21Z")
Man, I wish I was as witty and creative at any point in my life as he is at 77. I loved Nuts and still marvel at his work in Playboy. Can anyone tell me how to pronounce his name? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/12 "2007-05-06T04:33:13Z")
As a professional editor, I don’t think “she died peaceful” is acceptable. If you wanted to use the word “peaceful” to signify her state of mind, and not the mode of death, you wouldn’t construct the sentence that way. You’d write “She was peaceful when she died,” or some such. But as constructed, the only acceptable meaning and usage is “she died peacefully.” IMHO. The reference to Dylan Thomas is not particularly relevant, because Wilson was writing a caption, not a poem. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/13 "2007-05-06T04:36:05Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] As a professional editor, I don’t think “she died peaceful” is acceptable. I [/QUOTE] Are you saying you would edit Gahan Wilson? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/14 "2007-05-06T04:51:29Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] As a professional editor, I don’t think “she died peaceful” is acceptable. If you wanted to use the word “peaceful” to signify her state of mind, and not the mode of death, you wouldn’t construct the sentence that way. You’d write “She was peaceful when she died,” or some such. But as constructed, the only acceptable meaning and usage is “she died peacefully.” IMHO. The reference to Dylan Thomas is not particularly relevant, because Wilson was writing a caption, not a poem. [/QUOTE] True, the sentence would have to be rewrtten if “peaceful” were used to signify state during death. It would sound like a hillbilly otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/15 "2007-05-06T12:52:42Z")
Off to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/16 "2007-05-06T13:06:40Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] Can anyone tell me how to pronounce his name? [/QUOTE] Sure. It’s “WILL-sun.” ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/17 "2007-05-06T15:04:42Z")
At least she died at peace? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/18 "2007-05-06T17:31:16Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Are you saying you would edit Gahan Wilson? 🙂 [/QUOTE] Huh? No, it’s the OP who wants to edit him. I’m the one who thinks Wilson got it right the first time. Or am I being whooshed? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/19 "2007-05-06T17:40:24Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] Or am I being whooshed? [/QUOTE] No, I’m confused. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919/20 "2007-05-06T17:41:18Z")
The cartoon seems to be a reversal of the usual mode of violent death. You would never say, “At least she died violent.” It has to be “violently.” For the caption to work as a comment, therefore, it has to read, “At least she died peacefully.” Accept no substitutes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night/402919.md?page=2)