Biography of the Literary Works of Dylan Thomas

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"Drunk with melody, and what the words were, he cared not." This was a very common view among early commentators about Dylan Thomas (Cox 1). Thomas was a poet who was either loved or hated. It depended on the individual, and how they viewed his poetry. He was very famous for his poetry because it contained visions of life, aspects of birth and death, fear, grief, joy, and beauty. At a younger age, Thomas was a very violent poet. As he grew older, he spoke for all men greatly when he wrote. He wrote his poems referring to the qualities and sensations of life. The strength of feelings, which were expressed in his writings, gave many different impressions about Thomas’ attitudes toward religion and spirituality, relationships, and the passion in his poetry.

Thomas published his first book, Eighteen poems, in 1934. He then moved to London, and wrote his second book, Twenty-Five Poems, in 1936 (Locher 471). The two books were written similar to each other. In one of his poems, "Twenty One", he complains that there is a time when sun or moon is not visible. The mystic elements were "light," and perceiving that night also sheds light. This is an example of his spiritual discipline. In a later poem, "Thirty Two," Thomas writes with mature mysticism. He then included in his poem contraries like life and death or pleasure and pain, so that they are tangible in nature. He did this when he explained that he was suffering with Jesus, and that all things are sensible. He then included in his poem contraries like life and death or pleasure and pain, so that they are tangible in nature. In a number of his later poems Thomas started them with "For the love of man and in the praise of God" (Korg 33-34). This shows how Thomas perceived h...

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...y read his works. His works re-illustrate how he wrote through the eyes of an adult, and the innocence of a child. Critics state that the when Dylan Thomas died at the age of 39, the poems he had written, were the best of his time.

Bibliography:

Cox, C.B. ed. Dylan Thomas: collection of critical essays.

New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1996, Pg. 1-75.

Ferris, Paul. Dylan Thomas: A Biography. New York: The

Dial Press, 1977, Pg.166-233

Knepper, B.G. "Dylan Thomas". Critical Survey of Poetry.

Ed. Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs; Salem Press, 1982, Pg. 2878-2888.

Korg, Jacob. Dylan Thomas. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1965,

Pg. 33-55.

Locher, Frances C. Ed. "Dylan Thomas" Contemporary Authors.

Vol 104. Gale Research Company, 1982, Pg. 471.

Magill, Frank N. "Dylan Thomas" Collected Poems. Ed. J.M.

Dent; New Directions,1982, Pg. 53-55.

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