Analysis of Dylan Thomas’s View of Death
Abstract
Death is an eternal subject that always has great appeal to writers. Moreover, Dylan Thomas is no exception. In recent years, more and more researchers have begun to pay attention to Thomas and delve deeper into his poetry, exploring the language he uses and the ideas he conveys. However, the existing research on Thomas’s poetry is limited, and there is still a gap in understanding his view of death. Therefore, this study aims to explore Dylan Thomas’s perspective on death by analyzing specific poems through close reading. Thomas has a unique view of death. This study finds that Thomas acknowledges death as an inevitable reality. However, he believes people should adopt an optimistic attitude toward death instead of succumbing to it. At the same time, he possesses a profound understanding of the nature of death. In Thomas’s view, the universe is in an eternal cycle of life and death: life itself breeds death, and death means the arrival of new life. In general, Thomas sees death as a part of nature’s eternal cycle, which has a tragic core but people should be optimistic about it.
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