Poem In October- Anaylsis
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Poem in October: Analysis
Dylan Thomas
In his “Poem in October” Dylan Thomas describes in great detail his thirtieth birthday, which he celebrates in his hometown of Swansea, Wales, a small fishing village. He walks through the town very early in the morning, while its other inhabitants are still asleep, heading for the hill. He reflects on his life so far, marvelling the nature around him and is content to stay there, on the hill, observing nature around him, taking joy in it, till the weather makes an abrupt change. In that change, he seems to relive moments of his childhood, and a great feeling of joy surges through the poet, as the joys and mysteries of life seem to dance around him.
The poem is nothing short of delightful. Thomas uses the syllabic metre to great effect, for although there is no specified number of stresses, the number of syllables per line is specified. Thus, the syllables in each line in each stanza run: 9,12,9,3,5,12,12,5,3,9. Due to this metre, the poem can only be read at a certain pace, the words rolling along, thus giving the poem a flow and ease that, apart from the beauty it lends, create the feeling that the reader is alternately walking along with the poet though the town, swaying in the wind with the trees and streaming along with the other waves in the tide. Of course this is not the only technique used by Thomas in this poem, for we see again the use of the compressed metaphor, a common feature in his poetry. Here, the compressed metaphors enhance the effect created by the syllabic metre, in that they aid the flow of the poem, and enrich it, by adding another layer of intricacy.
Thomas Begins his poem with his moment of awakening, saying that his birthday “woke to my (his) hearing” with the sounds of nature, such as the “call of seagull and rook” and the “praying” of water. Thomas feels as though these sounds “beckon” him to “set foot in the still sleeping town and set forth.” He walks through the still sleeping town, and watches as the “water birds… Flying my (his) name,” This metaphor refers perhaps to the meaning of the name “Dylan”, which in Welsh means sea or tide, so the birds fly in high tide, or fly in the winds of the sea. Thomas also uses a metaphor for the rain which is falling, describing himself to be walking in “a shower of all my (his) days,” meaning that the rain brings back memories of other days in his life spent under the rain.
This conforming with nature on Thomas’s part is certainly interesting, he seems to see a riot of life wherever he looks, and links these images with his own memories, reflecting a sense of gladness to be alive. At this point, Thomas is now outside the town, and climbing the hill, describing what he sees on the way: “a springful of larks in a rolling cloud,” and “blackbirds.” Eventually he climbs so high that the church seemed to be the “size of a snail.” He chooses this spot to “marvel his birthday away,” on the hill, in the rain, “beyond the border and under the lark full cloud.”
The tone of the poem so far has been serene, quietly content, and this is emphasized by the spot