Thomas, Dylan. (1914 - 1953).
W o r k
< influenced by John Donne: emotionalism, lyric intensity, and metaphysical speculation
Eighteen Poems (1934):
- an early collection of poetry in the Romantic tradition
- uses extravagant rhetorics, violent imagery, and suggestive obscurity
The Map of Love (1939):
< influenced by the Bible, the folklore and preaching of his native Wales, and the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud
- suggests the unity of all life, the continuing process of life and death, and seeks for a poetic ritual to celebrate this unity
> “Twenty-four Years Remind the Tears of My Eyes”:
- interweaves the turbulent pulses of nature and the stillness of death
- typifies the confident loose-limbed swing of much of his verse
> “In Memory of Ann Jones”:
- in memory of his aunt
- specifically Welsh in terms of local reference
- yearns for a future universal release from death
Deaths and Entrances (1946):
< influenced by the WW II
- the title: derived from J. Donne
- addresses the idea of Death and Resurrection in an explicitly Christian way
> “Poem in October”:
- presents reminiscence and autobiographical emotion
- re-enacts the freedoms of childhood
> “Deaths and Entrances”:
- links incendiary bombs and fire-storms with an impending Armageddon
> “Ceremony After a Fire Raid”:
- both grieves x refuses to grieve, translates destruction into reconstitution
> “Fern Hill”:
- celebrates his youth, the age of innocence with no knowledge of death
“Do Not Go Gentle” (1951):
- his most celebrated late poem, written about his father
- expresses his anxiety and a personal protest against death
Basics
(Photo: Wikipedia).
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Author
Dylan Marlais Thomas. (1914 - 1953). Welsh. -
Work
Poet. Playwright. Author of "Do Not Go Gentle" (1951). -
Genres
Modern poetry. War poetry.
Literature
Abrams, Meyer Howard, ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W. W. Norton, 1993.
Barnard, Robert. Stručné dějiny anglické literatury. Praha: Brána, 1997.
Baugh, Albert C. ed. A Literary History of England. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967.
Coote, Stephen. The Penguin Short History of English Literature. London: Penguin, 1993.
Sampson, George. The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1946.
Sanders, Andrew. The Short Oxford History of English Literature. New York: Clarendon Press, 1994.
Quote
"Do not go gentle into that good night, / Old age should burn and rave at close of day; / Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
From "Do Not Go Gentle" (1951).