Dylan Thomas Criticism
Dylan Thomas, born in 1914 in Swansea, Wales, is a celebrated poet whose work encapsulates themes of childhood, Welsh cultural identity, and the interplay between innocence and experience. His poetry, renowned for its obscure imagery and complex linguistic structures, reflects a romantic consciousness influenced by his formative landscapes and Modernist culture, as explored by Walford Davies. Among his major works, "Fern Hill," "A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London," and the iconic "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" highlight his ability to recapture lost innocence through poetic imagination, as noted by Alan Bold. In works like Deaths and Entrances, Thomas channels his wartime experiences into significant poetic achievements, discussed by John Ackerman.
Thomas's oeuvre has elicited diverse critical responses. While Paul West celebrates his rejection of everyday logic in favor of wonder, others critique his perceived lack of clarity. His intricate language, described by Don McKay, draws comparisons to the structural techniques of Thomas Hardy. Religious themes in his work emphasize individualism over conformity, as examined by Eleanor J. McNees. Despite criticisms from figures like Seamus Heaney regarding immaturity, scholars such as Barbara Hardy appreciate his childlike engagement with nature, akin to Wordsworth.
Beyond poetry, Thomas's prose, though often overshadowed by his poetic works, reveals his lyrical and rhythmic style. His stories, imbued with nostalgic and biblical imagery, are dissected by critics like John Ackerman and Derek Stanford, who analyze works such as The Map of Love and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog. The critical reception of his prose is mixed; while Peter Levi claims he never matured in prose, others like Linden Peach appreciate its imagery and thematic exploration of human experience. Despite his prose being perceived as financially motivated, it shares thematic depth with his poetry, as defended by John Ackerman in La Recherche du Temps Gallois: Dylan Thomas's Development as a Prose Writer.
Critics such as Jacob Korg, Walford Davies, and Annis Pratt have delved into various aspects of his prose, examining its imaginative narratives, influences, and structural analysis. Despite contentious reception, Thomas's vivid imagery and unconventional style continue to influence modern poetry, affirming his legacy as a complex yet enduring figure in literary scholarship.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Thomas, Dylan (Poetry Criticism)
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Dylan Thomas: The Position in Calamity
(summary)
In the following essay, West attempts to sort through the varying critical assessments of Thomas's work.
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‘And the Wild Wings Were Raised’: Sources and Meaning in Dylan Thomas' ‘A Winter's Tale.’
(summary)
In the following essay, Schwarz discusses “A Winter's Tale,” maintaining that the poem was written within the tradition of Romanticism, as well as in response to that tradition.
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Crafty Dylan and the Altarwise Sonnets: ‘I build a flying tower and I pull it down.’
(summary)
In the following essay, McKay compares the structure of Thomas's poetry, particularly the sonnets, with that of Thomas Hardy, reportedly Thomas's favorite poet.
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Contexts and Conclusions
(summary)
In the following essay, Davies examines Thomas's writings within the geographical context of his origins as well as within the cultural context of Modernism.
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Neo-Romanticism and the Poetry of Dylan Thomas
(summary)
In the following essay, Volsik examines Thomas's participation in the British neo-Romanticism movement of the 1930s through the 1950s.
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A Freak User of Words
(summary)
In the following essay, Gareth Thomas explores Thomas's writings from a linguistic perspective.
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Young Heaven's Fold: The Second Childhood of Dylan Thomas
(summary)
In the following essay, Bold explores the themes within Thomas's poetry of lost childhood innocence and the adult's ability to recapture that innocence through the imagination.
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Deaths and Entrances
(summary)
In the following essay, Ackerman explores the influence of Thomas's World War II experiences on his poetry collection Deaths and Entrances.
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Wounding Presence: The Sacrificial Poetry of Dylan Thomas
(summary)
In the following essay, McNees discusses religious imagery in Thomas's poetry.
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Dylan the Durable? On Dylan Thomas
(summary)
In the following essay, Heaney examines Thomas's critical reputation in the years since his death.
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The Ambiguous Reversal of Dylan Thomas's ‘In Country Sleep.’
(summary)
In the following essay, Balakier discusses the conflicted feelings of a father for his daughter in Thomas's “In Country Sleep.”
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Dylan Thomas's ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’: Through ‘Lapis Lazuli’ to King Lear.
(summary)
In the following essay, Cyr contends that Thomas's treatment of impending death in “Do not go gentle into that good night” is more closely connected to Shakespeare's play rather than to Yeats's poetry, as is commonly believed.
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The Green Poet
(summary)
In the following essay, Hardy discusses nature themes and imagery in Thomas's poetry.
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Dylan Thomas: The Position in Calamity
(summary)
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Thomas, Dylan (Short Story Criticism)
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Prose and Drama
(summary)
In the excerpt below, Stanford describes Thomas's provocative use of language in the stories of Map of Love and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.
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A Prose Interlude: The Early Stories
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Ackerman compares the themes and use of language in Thomas's early short stories, written between 1934 and 1939, to those of his early poetry. Thomas's prose is essentially a poet's prose—eloquent, sensuous, strongly rhythmic, and rich in metaphor. It shares the usual Anglo-Welsh attitudes: it is nostalgic, impassioned, personal, and apocalyptic. The writing draws much upon Biblical thought and imagery, and childhood is a dominant theme. Its style owes much to Welsh pulpit oratory and, for its full subtlety, must be read aloud. Sometimes, it must be admitted, the magic of the word and the emotions of the author get the better of the sense.
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Gruesome
(summary)
In the following review of Thomas's Collected Stories, Levi decides that Thomas never matured as a prose writer.
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The Collected Stories
(summary)
In the following review of The Collected Stories, Stonehill provides a brief appreciation.
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Religion, Repression and Sexual Violence
(summary)
From a study of religion, repression, and sexual violence, Peach discusses in the essay below, Thomas's use of imagery and symbolism to express the darker side of sexuality.
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Living ‘under the shadow of the bowler’: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Rowe maintains that Thomas refashioned his own middle-class childhood in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog to make it more palatable.
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Stories and Dramas
(summary)
In the following essay, Korg analyzes the poetic and straightforward narrative styles that characterize Thomas's stories.
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Prose and Drama
(summary)
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Thomas, Dylan (Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism)
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Stories and Plays
(summary)
In the following essay, Korg divides Thomas's nonpoetic works into two areas: fantasies and straightforward narratives.
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Imitation and Invention: The Use of Borrowed Material in Dylan Thomas's Prose
(summary)
In the following essay, Davies examines the influences of Thomas Hardy, the Mabinogion, Charles Dickens, Ambrose Bierce, and others on Thomas's stories and film scripts.
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The Lost Vision in Dylan Thomas' ‘One Warm Saturday’
(summary)
In the following essay, Kelly believes that the themes and structure of Thomas's short story “One Warm Saturday” are derived from James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
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The Structure of Early Prose
(summary)
In the following essay, Pratt focuses on Thomas's early fiction, and applies Jungian psychology to determine the author's mental state when the stories were written.
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The Stories in Dylan Thomas' Red Notebook
(summary)
In the following essay, Tritshler examines Thomas's juvenilia, which is contained in his Red Notebook.
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Daedalus, Orpheus, and Dylan Thomas's Portrait of the Artist
(summary)
In the following essay, Bruns attempts to find the sources of inspiration for the stories contained in Thomas's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.
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Dylan Thomas's Image of the ‘Young Dog’ in the Portrait
(summary)
In the following essay, Davies examines canine allusions in Thomas's short stories, which he feels reveals the author's youthful bravado as well as his resolution that he is destined to lose his vitality.
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Dylan Thomas as Poet and Story-Teller
(summary)
In the following essay, Tinkler examines the differences between Thomas's poetry and prose.
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La Recherche du Temps Gallois: Dylan Thomas's Development as a Prose Writer
(summary)
In the following essay, Ackerman defends Thomas's prose as equal in importance to his poetry.
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A review of Dylan Thomas: The Collected Stories
(summary)
In the following review of Thomas's Collected Stories, Peterson believes Thomas could not sustain longer works of fiction.
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A review of The Collected Letters of Dylan Thomas
(summary)
In the following review of The Collected Letters of Dylan Thomas, Davies praises editor (and Thomas biographer) Paul Ferris for correcting errors in previous publications of Thomas's correspondence.
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Stories and Plays
(summary)
- Further Reading