How does Dylan Thomas feel on his thirtieth Birthday? [NU. 2013]

Ans. Introduction: On his thirtieth birthday Dylan Thomas feels sad to think that he has passed another year on the way to his Death. But a moment later his mind is filled with a kind of joy when working around in the pleasant morning he finds that the whole world belongs to him. He feels happy that he is greeted by many objects and creatures of nature such as the priest-like herons sitting on the shore, the fish in the pools of water, the seagull and the rooks, the boats sailing on the water. Summoned by the call of the birds and the beauties of nature, the poet walks out of the town towards the sea-shore. It seems to the poet that even the water-birds and the birds flying over the trees are celebrating his birthday by flying over the farms and over the white coloured horses, proclaiming his nature.

A child’s dreamy vision: Thomas was born in October, a month in the rainy autumn. Confusedly the autumn rain was transformed into a “shower” of all his days past, which he now remembers. The dream world into which the poet has escaped from the harsh reality is broken and the herons and the high tides which seemed to him to be celebrating his birthday and praying for him, are no longer there. They dive into the ocean as if to disappear from the scene.

The poet in wonder-struck by the beauty of nature: The poet, climbing the hill forward, on which he has been walking, looks up and finds that the clouds are full of larks as in the spring season. The poet is charmed with the songs of birds in the bushes by the roadside and that of the larks above. As he rides up the hill towards the top, he finds the weather hot there as in the summer season. The poet is wonder-struck by a lovely confusion of seasons and climates, and the sweet singing of birds. The weather there is both spring-like and summery. The bright weather above – spring and summer – symbolizes an escape into a happy world from the harsh reality. Looking downward, the poet finds below the woods from where he has come; there cold wind seems to be squeezing out drops of rain. The rain and cold wind below symbolize the painful reality which cannot be avoided for any length of time.

He sees his childhood in a vision: As the poet reaches the top of the hill, the harbour seems to dwindle in size and the distant church looks as small as a snail with “horns” which signifies the towers of the church. It has been possible for the poet to spend his whole birthday in the world of wonder and delight, but the weather has changed. The change of weather here implies a change in the mental climate of the poet. The poet’s mind turns from his present surroundings to something else, namely his days of childhood. He remembers the happy days of his childhood which he passed in Fern Hill, where was situated the farm of his aunt. It was a country noted for apples, pears and currants and the boy Dylan walked there like a lord.

Conclusion: Thus, the poet had, as a child actually witnessed the fields and woods, and now he sees them again through imagination. He remembers vividly the tears he had shed as a child. The memory of those tears makes him feel as if they are once again flowing down his cheeks.

#Collected