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Death. Even the mere suggestion of the word is able to conjure up visions of dark, grisly impressions and cold, somber moods. The subject of death is neither an appropriate nor amusing subject of conversation among people because of the ill feelings of tragedy and mourning so often associated with it. Through his poetry, Thomas attempts to reverse the common opinions of society on death by using diction and comparisons that offer a new and contented perspective of death and reverences it as an integral, inescapable part of the natural cycle. Dylan Thomas begins "A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London" by setting up a motif of atavism that prevails throughout the rest of the poem. He uses terms that refer to creation as he describes a darkness as "mankind-making," "bird-" "beast-" and "flower-fathering," and "all-humbling." This darkness is represents the nothingness from which the world evolved, and we also know it is a great power by the descriptor "all-humbling." According to this first stanza the same darkness will also mark the end of the world when the end of the world when the "last light" breaks and the seas are silenced. This stanza establishes a cycle of darkness before creation and a darkness after destruction that lays a symbolic foundation for the rest of the poem. The next stanza depicts Thomas as he himself enters this cosmic cycle and reveals this tremendously cosmic cycle to be death.
Approximate Word count = 906
Approximate Pages = 3.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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