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Comment 35 of 45, added on March 2nd, 2006 at 4:06 AM.
I think this poem is mocking religion, 'unicorn evils' a unicorn is a self thought myth, so is he mocking those who believe? Also, Thomas being a great believe of pantheism being a 'creator and creature of his own world', isn't he rejecting the idea of religion? The idealistic heaven 'they shall have stars at elbow and foot' also seems to be mocking this perfect idea of the after-life. I think Thomas believes love endures death and religion, and that it makes us immortal.
jo from United Kingdom
Comment 34 of 45, added on January 31st, 2006 at 5:45 AM.
I don't think this poem is specifically about any afterlife at all. It's more about the endurance of memory and love on Earth for a dead person.
"Though lovers be lost love shall not" refers directly to love while "Heads of the characters hammer through daisies" (I think) refers to the characters of a person's name "hammering" out from the gravestone into the sunlight, even as it is slowly consumed with undergrowth.
I've loved this poem for years for its beauty and symbolism. I'm not sure if all of it has a direct meaning but would be interested if anyone knows what the "unicorn evils" refers to.
Andrew from United Kingdom
Comment 33 of 45, added on December 12th, 2005 at 7:39 AM.
As the poem was writen in 1946, just after the Second World war, imagine how poweful it was to confort millions of desperate people who had lost their loved ones!!! It is really an awesome poem because it emphasis the function of poetry itself, that is capable of beaulding from dust men and nations!!!
Danielle from Brazil
Comment 32 of 45, added on December 12th, 2005 at 7:26 AM.
As the poem was writen in 1946, just after the Second World war, imagine how poweful it was to confort millions of desperate people who had lost their loved ones!!! It is really an awesome poem because it emphasis the function of poetry itself, that is capable of beaulding from dust men and nations!!!
Danielle from Brazil
Comment 31 of 45, added on November 10th, 2005 at 2:38 PM.
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
I can't count the number of times I've lived this phrase....
James from United States
Comment 30 of 45, added on October 18th, 2005 at 3:52 AM.
The poem has all the possibilities commented on above. On reading Rachel's email, i thought she was right and that Thomas does, to some extent(but not entirely i feel)appear to reject the more proverbial representation of death in art, which is primarily shaped by religious teachings. This idea is ironised by the repetitve, sermon-like structure of each stanza, beginning and ending with "And death shall have no dominion". The first stanza introduces the romantic idea of love all enduring as a conqueror of death, but then Thomas mixes symbols of nature, purity and fragility, with harsh, aggresive images ("twisting on racks"), and doesn't allow the reader to settle into a predictable pattern of poetic cliches. There is a definite sense of an ongoing cycle, or a circle of life (for want of a better expression) as in "heads of the characters hammer through daisies", but this is made brutal by the hammer, which invokes the image of hammering nails into a coffin. The poem is fascinating, there is no definite or clear meaning, but it is intensely provoking.
lizzie from United Kingdom
Comment 29 of 45, added on October 16th, 2005 at 6:11 PM.
This is a powerful poem. I don't know much about Christian orthodoxy ,but the title seems to come from Paul's Letter to the Romans, at chapter 5 verse 14 "... death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses ...and see verse 21 "...so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through righteousness"
The power of the poem to me is that it shows the inadequacy of language to deal with powerful mystery. Dylan is somewhere on the other side of words in this work.
Uncas McThenia
Comment 28 of 45, added on September 26th, 2005 at 2:19 PM.
Who asked anyone for meaning, explanation? If this poem meant something to you, then that is why one shares poems. Take it for face value! AND sharing of ideas about the cool facets is ENTIRELY the point. But not propagandist conclusions and supposition of deeper meaning for you to conclude with. I like red wine and cheese! Appreciate that of me...Don't tell me what it means! And for everyone that was touched by this poem, feels good doesn't it? Peace!
4ilu, Bella
kenji from United States
Comment 27 of 45, added on September 25th, 2005 at 1:44 AM.
What a word, dominion. Hmmmm....
york from United States
Comment 26 of 45, added on September 18th, 2005 at 8:21 AM.
I hate to be pedantic but... Having read Dino's comment, I also felt compelled to 'get my two cents worth' in. Now, I think poetry, like all art, is a deeply personal release. No two persons thought processes are identical, they may be similar but never identical. The way I percieve a certain subject or situation will be different to the next man's. So to preach about the hidden meanings applied to a piece of art or poetry is a selfish imposition. Especially when your own grasp of semantics, grammar and spelling leave a lot to be desired. My own personal thought is that Dylan Thomas's imagination was not constrained to one focal point but encompassed many aspects of life and death. Of course, it is impossible to ignore the references to the unity of the universe but there are also specific references to life after death. Who knows what Thomas meant except Thomas? Maybe we should ask the daisies.
Spike from United Kingdom
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I think this poem is mocking religion, 'unicorn evils' a unicorn is a self thought myth, so is he mocking those who believe? Also, Thomas being a great believe of pantheism being a 'creator and creature of his own world', isn't he rejecting the idea of religion? The idealistic heaven 'they shall have stars at elbow and foot' also seems to be mocking this perfect idea of the after-life. I think Thomas believes love endures death and religion, and that it makes us immortal.
jo from United Kingdom