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Fern Hill, a poem that was completed in 1945, narrates vividly the days of the poet's childhood when he
lived on a dairy farm with his aunt and uncle.
The poem recreates the child's uncomplicated view of life and his vivid use of the imagination in living out
a simple, rustic life.
NOTE ON THE POET
Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea -- Wales -- in October 1914. His father was a schoolmaster, his
mother a seamstress.
The poet spent much of his youth in Swansea where he often visited his aunt's dairy farm. It was these
visits which inspired much of his poetry. "Fern Hill" records memories of those happy days.
Thomas was always a sickly child who tended to keep to himself. He was educated initially at a private
school which he referred to as Mrs. Hole's "Dame School". Later he would attend the Swansea Grammar
School where he published his first poem in the school's magazine.
He loved literature but ignored most of his other subjects, eventually dropping out of school at 16,
thereupon becoming a reporter for a local newspaper. Later he would continue to work as a freelance
journalist.
Most of his poems and short stories were written at his home at Cwmdonkin in Wales.
When World War II erupted, Thomas was essentially not fit to fight. Instead he worked for the Ministry
of Information, producing propaganda movies. It was during this time, however, that he began to drink
heavily.
He would later become famous for his poetry readings where his Welsh accent captivated audiences.
He was particularly involved with the BBC and is now most remembered for his play-for-voices called
Under Milk Wood.
Like Under Milk Wood, his poetry was renowned for its play on sounds and words, and for its
quaint imagery and word order.
Thomas married a dancer, Caitlin MacNamara, and maintained a stormy relationship where rumours of
affairs on both sides were rife. They would have three children.
He would die in New York in November 1953 from an overindulgence in alcohol . He was then just 39
years of age.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
All the sun long it was running, it was lovely, the hay
Fields high as the house, the tunes from the chimneys, it was air
And playing, lovely and watery
And fire green as grass.
- How could the hay fields be "as high as the house"? (4)
[Need help?]
It would seem that we are again looking at a quaint playing with words, which is the poet's forte.
The hay fields as such are not as high as the house but, once the hay has been gathered and piled onto
hay-stacks, these stacks are perhaps as high as the house.
By virtue of the fields being gathered into stacks, therefore, the poet is able to say that the fields are as
high as the house.
And so the hay represents the fields. An example of metonymy?
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- Why would the fire be "green as grass"? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet is attempting to capture the joy of his childhood, as well as the vivid imagination of the child.
The green grass represents happiness. The fire too brings back memories of happiness. And so the poet
brings together the green grass and the fire to make the fire as green as grass.
It is also possible, of course, that the little boy is imagining the fire as part of his game. The green grass
is on fire in his imagination, and so once again the fire is as green as grass.
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And nightly under the simple stars
As I rode to sleep the owls were bearing the farm away,
All the moon long I heard, blessed among stables, the nightjars
Flying with the ricks, and the horses
Flashing into the dark.
- Comment on the metaphors "all the sun long" and "all the moon long". (4)
[Need help?]
Dylan Thomas is known for his love of playing with words, placing them in a different order, changing
expressions to create a novelty of sound. He creates quite literally a play on sound.
One of the things the poet is renowned for is the distinctly lyrical quality of his verse, and his quaint
manner of expression which he partially achieves by using idioms in unexpected ways.
This is precisely what he does here. What he means is "all day long" and "all night long" but
he allows the sun to represent the day, while the moon represents the night.
What is this called? Is it metonymy -- the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for
that of the thing meant?
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- What does the poet mean when he says "as I rode to sleep" and "the owls were bearing the
farm away"? (4)
[Need help?]
Is not this part of the little boy's imagination? He sees himself as riding to sleep, sees the owls arrive at
night to carry the farm away to imaginary worlds of dreams, then bring them back again in the morning.
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And then to awake, and the farm, like a wanderer white
With the dew, come back, the cock on his shoulder: it was all
Shining, it was Adam and maiden,
The sky gathered again
And the sun grew round that very day.
- Explain the image "and the farm, like a wanderer white with the dew, come back, the cock on his
shoulder". (4)
[Need help?]
The poet personifies the farm, doesn't he?
The farmhouse becomes synonymous with Old Man Time, wandering from place to place, from season
to season, his long white hair -- being the white of frost and dew on the roof -- glistening in the morning
sun.
The cock stands on the roof of the farmhouse, crowing its welcome to the morning but, in keeping with
the personification of the farmhouse, the little boy sees the cock as standing on the shoulder of Old Man
Time.
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- Why does the poet write that it was "Adam and the maiden" rather than "Adam and
Eve"? (4)
[Need help?]
The poet is portraying an idyllic world of youth and innocense. It is paradise -- the Garden of Eden image
-- but paradise before the fall, before sin entered into the world.
Note that sin and sex were often seen as synonymous and so, to portray his world of total innocense, the
poet chooses to describe Eve as a maiden or virgin.
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GENERAL QUESTION:
The poet achieves a lyrical and magical effect in these verses. How does he do it? (10)
[Need help?]
Dylan Thomas's poetry really does need to be read out loud to appreciate its fullness of expression. Like
Under Milk Wood which is described as a "play for voices", much of his poetry can be said
to be "poems for voices".
His construction has much to do with it: his use of common expressions in a quaint and novel way, e.g.
"And fire green as grass" and "all the moon long", etc.
The poet's use of alliteration and sibilance help create this effect as well: e.g.
"spinning place, the spellbound horses" and "walking warm out of the whinnying green
stable".
Finally, the poet uses vivid imagination to conjure up his magical spells: e.g. "the tunes from
the chimneys, it was air and playing, lovely and watery" and "the nightjars flying with the ricks",
etc.
Find other examples of this.
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