And Death Shall Have No Dominion - A poem by Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas - And Death Shall Have No Dominion

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead mean naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Through they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

Added: on February 13th, 2009 at 3:56 PM | Viewed: 65562 times | Comments (51)

And Death Shall Have No Dominion - Comments and Information
Poet: Dylan Thomas Poem: And Death Shall Have No Dominion Volume: 25 Poems Year: Published/Written in 1936 Comment 51 of 51, added on May 27th, 2009 at 10:50 AM. To Whom It May Concern : Once and for all - " dead mean naked " should read " dead men naked" If anyone has any doubts about this listen to any D.T. video where the man recites the same. M.J. Finner from Canada Comment 50 of 51, added on May 12th, 2009 at 12:23 PM. In response to some of the other comments, where the poem says "heads of the characters hammer through daisies", isn't he referring to the letters of the person's name on the gravestone forcing themselves into the light? It doesn't refer to the heads of the dead people. If it did, then the use of the word "characters" is inapropriate, we use this word for fictional people, not each other. Andrew from United Kingdom Comment 49 of 51, added on February 13th, 2009 at 3:56 PM. It's ironic, friends... but positive. He's quoting Romans 6:9 loosely in the first line, then deliberately undermining it throughout. Thomas was an agnostic; more of a 'spiritual materialist' -- believing, like Blake, in a kind of Eternal energy or divine oneness -- than an atheist. The original biblical line referred to Christ's resurrection, which Thomas slightly mocks with lines referring to the torture chambers of the Catholic Inquisition and the almost comical image of heads hammering up through daisies when the supposed Revelation comes. His images are meant to show the absolute finality of death, yet, in their horror, to set the tone for the underlying peaceful notion that the eternal oneness our spirits rejoin at the end of their journey is far more vital (in its literal sense) than earthly life. This transcendental/pantheistic approach is consistent with his trademark neo-romantic leanings and is perhaps hinted at by deliberately jumbling Shelly's 'west wind' with the fairytale 'man in the moon' early on. There is a foreboding sense in that line that he will be mocking all myths that attempt to explain metaphysics in trite, easily grasped stories and images, putting them on the same level as the fairytales (man in moon) we tell children. Scott Withers from Canada More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, And Death Shall Have No Dominion, has received 51 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Dylan Thomas with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!

Poem Info
And Death Shall Have No Dominion Volume: 25 Poems Year: Published/Written in 1936 Last read: 2009-11-20 23:42:23 Viewed 65562 times. Added on February 13th, 2009 at 3:56 PM.

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