Use of Symbols in the Poetry of Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas makes extensive use of natural, conventional and private symbols to convey complex psychological states to his readers. He draws symbols from different branches of sciences, philosophies, myths, legends, literature, history, occult knowledge, Bible etc.
'Poem in October' ‘contains various types
of symbols. In the beginning of the poem the poet finds a heron on the shore.
To him the heron becomes a symbol of sacredness and is regarded as a priest
sitting on the seashore. The waves of the ocean rising high seem to the poet a
kind of prayer to heaven on the occasion of his birthday. The call of the
seagull coming from the shore, the crowing of the rooks from the wood and the
knock of the sailing boats near the harbour, overhung with fishermen’s nets,
symbolize an invitation to the poet to wake up and come out to enjoy the beauty
of nature. The ‘winged trees’ symbolize the poem in which the poet celebrates
his birthday. ‘Water-birds and birds of the winged trees fly my name’- Here
birds flying over the farms and white horses seem to celebrate his birthday by
proclaiming his name.
The word “Dylan” in English means ‘High
Tide’ and so the birds may simply be flying the waves which are rising high.
The line may simply be the fantasy of the schizoid individual or it may refer
to the present poem in which Dylan celebrates his birthday, or it may be merely
the high tides which to the poet’s imagination seem to be flying so high on the
wings of the bird. ‘The white horses’ symbolize something highly desirable.
‘And I rose in rainy autumn’ signifies that the poet was born in October which
is a month of Autumn. ‘High tide and the heron dived’- Here diving of the high
tide ad the heron symbolizes the disappearance of the poet’s dream; the
fantasy-world into which he escaped a moment ago is broken, and he has come to
reality. Again the bright weather above the hill, spring and summer symbolizes
a world of escape from the harsh reality, while the cold and rain below
symbolizes the painful reality which cannot be avoided for any length of time.
Further the ‘tall tales’ symbolizes
imagination and fancy, while ‘the gardens of spring and summer’ stand for the
beautiful glorious world as re-created by the imagination of the poet. ‘The
weather turned around’ signifies the fact that his escape into the fantasy
world of boyhood was short –lived. The phrase ‘the other air’ symbolizes the
vision and memory of childhood. ‘Parables’ and ‘Legends’ stand for the wonders
and glorious vision of childhood, while the woods symbolically become green
chapel. Thus the whole poem is replete with symbols and symbolic expressions of
various types.
To sum up, Dylan’s symbols are complex
and many-sided. Most of them are not universal but private symbols, devised by
Dylan for his own use. Their complexity sometimes, gives rise to obscurity.
Hence the reader should approach his subject very carefully; otherwise
misunderstanding or misinterpretation may occur at any moment.
Abstract The study of the poetry of Dylan Thomas is incomplete if symbolism is not read or studied in depth with all its nuances.
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