Dylan Thomas Fern Hill Analysis

Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas is a memory composed from a man’s life as he matures from youth to an adult thusly attempting to deal with the unstoppable passing of a natural lifespan. The narrator is looking back on his life with pleasure in a calm manner and becomes slightly depressed because the narrator realizes that the grace of childhood is eventually lost.

Thesis: People have their whole life to be old, but only a few years to be young

Childhood

Childhood has the simplicity of life, playing outside during the summer's night, the dreams and imaginary friends. Childhood is a magical time, with each day full of new surprises and the way children transform anything into everything. No worries, no stress, nobody judging, and always doing what

makes us happy. With family around, it’s more than any other force; it shapes the attitude, the hopes, the ambitions, and the values of youth. The nostalgic nature of the poem imparts in the reader the same nostalgia, causing a reminiscence, which connects the reader to the narrator on a personal level. The most poignant line to this regard shows the youthful imagination “And honored among wagons I was prince of the apple towns…” (Stanza 1). Just as seasons come and go, so does youth, fleeting from the youthful in due time, and Thomas uses even this simple, yet powerful, concept to draw the reader into the narrator’s tale

Childhood is that time of innocence that can’t be compared to any other.

It is the best time in your life in that all you care about is the now; the future is merely there to allow you to make a wish. As a child, people have all kinds of dreams and wishes. For some reason when we become adults some people stop dreaming and wishing and we’re forced to deal with the “real world”. “Fern Hill” is a poem that discusses the evanescence of life. Thomas describes his experience living on his Aunt's farm, Fern Hill, in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The beginning of the poem has a cheerful, serene tone, using images such as "fields high as the house" and "spellbound horses walking" to describe the haven of Fern Hill. He describes his experiences and love of the surroundings and wildlife. The speaker also shows how the farm affects his over all happiness and well-being. He also describes himself with colors, like he said as "green and golden,"(stanza 5) representing his childhood, and when he said, “my sky blue trades, that time allows,” (stanza 5) refers to peacefulness, and lastly, white refers to innocence. Thomas writes about the past, and remembering this happy memory makes him look and compare his life happiness now. " Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means, time held me green and dying, thought I sang in my chains like the sea," This quote shows that the farm had a big impact on his life. He didn't want to let it go and still inside of him he holds on to that happy

memory and keeps that feeling alive.

The evanescence of life for instance is like a shooting star, it's there one moment and gone the next.

People change, not only physically, but also mentally and ethically. During childhood, every year passes and people wish to be older. Now that people are adults, they sometimes wish they could be a kid again. It’s quite amazing how fast your opinion can change. On the other hand, even though people grow older they still have a lot to experience. Thomas wished to return to those days, because the hardest part of growing up is letting go of what you were used to and moving on with something you’re not and he could only return to those days in his memories. This is an example of how adulthood can sometimes be the ghosts of childhood that appears.

In conclusion, “Fern Hill” by Dylan Thomas demonstrates that at some point in life people will experience reminiscing on the past lifetime. It’s eye opening to see time pass oh so quickly, with death impending, youth is fleeting and infinitely valuable, as well as we do not fully appreciate childhood until it is too late. This poem displays beautiful imagery of how great childhood was, but it comes to a depressing thought at the loss of the beauty of his childhood, and he longs for his youthfulness. In the end, the whole idea of youth and age is

natural.