We only know few renowned authors whose origins are in Wales. Apart from Raymond Williams, or Ken Follett, Dylan Thomas is one of the writers who has often been associated with Welsh literature and culture in the last sixty years; furthermore, he is possibly the most notable Welsh author. Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, Wales, in 1914. After he left school at the age of sixteen, he started working as a journalist in Swansea. At that time, he also started writing, notably short stories and essays. Thomas also published radio-plays that have been broadcast on the BBC, such as “Under Milk Wood”, which portrays typical Welsh peasants. Moreover, he wrote numerous poems of which “Fern Hill” is the best-known. It was part of a sequence of Thomas´s poetry, named “Deaths and Entrances”, released in 1945...
Table of Contents
Introduction: A Short Summary of Dylan Thomas´s Life
A Summary of The Poem Fern Hill
A Characterisation of The Speaker
Analysis of The Stylistic Devices / Time As A Second Character
The Welsh Background / Autobiographical Influence
Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines Dylan Thomas's poem "Fern Hill" as an autobiographical work, exploring how the poet utilizes stylistic devices and thematic elements to mirror his personal connection to Wales and the impact of the Second World War. The study analyzes the poem's linguistic structure and imagery to determine if the speaker serves as an alter ego for the author.
- Biographical influences of Dylan Thomas on his literary work
- Characterization of the poem's narrator as a child
- Analysis of time as a central metaphorical character
- Symbolic use of colors, religion, and nature in the text
- The intersection of Welsh identity and British modernism
Excerpt from the Book
A Characterisation of The Speaker
It appears to be relatively easy to chraracterise the only “human” character in the poem. Dylan Thomas presents a first-person narrator, which indicates that indirect characterisation has to be applied, for a neutral voice does not appear. Thus, both the surface and the subtextual level have to be examined in terms of literary analysis.
The reader can easily infer that the narrator is a young child. The poem´s language reveals several mistakes that are typical of the way in which children talk. The utterance “And once below a time” (7) is the most obvious example to signify that the speaker is not even an adolescencent. The child is not yet capable of using language correctly and obviously fails to say “once upon a time”. Even though the infant´s gender is not referred to directly, the reader can assume that the poet portrays a boy, for the way in which he plays mirrors the image of a typical young boy as in “And green and golden I was huntsman and herdsman the calves / sang to my horn” (15-16). It is even possible to look “through” the narrator´s eye. The comparison “the hay fields high as the house” (19-20) is typical of a child, who is still smaller than the crop in a cornfield. Throughout the poem, the reader obtains the impression that we are partaking “in” a child´s indulgence or reverie. The sentence “Now as I was young and easy” (1) shows that the narrator uses past tense to recount the poem.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: A Short Summary of Dylan Thomas´s Life: Provides an overview of the author's biography, his career in Wales and London, and his struggles that shaped his literary legacy.
A Summary of The Poem Fern Hill: Outlines the structure and content of the poem, highlighting the shift from a childhood of innocence to the trauma of war.
A Characterisation of The Speaker: Analyzes the narrator's voice, identifying him as a child whose language reflects both joy and the creeping fear caused by external threats.
Analysis of The Stylistic Devices / Time As A Second Character: Explores the use of metaphor, color symbolism, and alliteration, focusing on how time acts as a dominating force in the poem.
The Welsh Background / Autobiographical Influence: Discusses the significance of the Welsh setting and the influence of the Second World War on Thomas’s writing style.
Conclusion: Summarizes the integration of autobiographical elements and Welsh identity, affirming the poem's status as a masterpiece of Anglo-Welsh literature.
Keywords
Dylan Thomas, Fern Hill, Anglo-Welsh literature, autobiography, child narrator, time, war, symbolism, metaphor, nature, identity, Welsh poetry, modernism, innocence, apocalypse.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper explores the poem "Fern Hill" by Dylan Thomas, analyzing it as an autobiographical piece that reflects the author's relationship with Wales and his reaction to the historical context of the Second World War.
What central themes are explored?
Central themes include the transition from childhood innocence to experience, the relentless influence of time, the impact of war on personal existence, and the expression of Welsh national and cultural identity.
What is the main research objective?
The goal is to determine how the poet's biography and specific stylistic choices turn the poem into a personal statement where the speaker functions as the author's alter ego.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author uses literary analysis, examining the text’s linguistic structure, stylistic devices, metaphorical imagery, and biographical research to interpret the meaning of the poem.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main sections cover the biographical context of Dylan Thomas, a detailed summary of the poem, a characterization of the child speaker, a stylistic analysis of the poem’s metaphors, and an evaluation of its place in Anglo-Welsh literature.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Key terms include Dylan Thomas, Fern Hill, Anglo-Welsh literature, child narrator, autobiography, time, symbolism, and war.
How does the author interpret the color "green" in the poem?
The author argues that "green" serves as an extended metaphor symbolizing youth, happiness, and freedom, but eventually reflects decay and the human circle of life toward the end of the poem.
Why does the paper classify "Fern Hill" as "Anglo-Welsh"?
It is classified as Anglo-Welsh because although the poem is written in English, it deeply engages with the geography, culture, and religious sensibilities of Wales, reflecting the transition of Welsh identity during the period of British modernism.
What role does "Time" play in the poem according to the analysis?
Time is characterized as an active, dominant, and almost supernatural force that initially allows the child to live in innocence but eventually captures and molds him into a haunted survivor of war.
- Quote paper
- Carol Petri (Author), 2006, Dylan Thomas´s "Fern Hill" as an Autobiographical Anglo-Welsh Poem, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/81745
