Thomas and Dickinson

Another essay! A comparison between the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Dylan Thomas, both excellent in their own right. Two of my favourite poets!

In a series of sequential paragraphs, explore the various ways that two poets write about similar ideas.

Death is a universal phenomenon commonly portrayed in literature, the treatment of which is as diverse as the novelists or poets themselves. Emily Dickinson and Dylan Thomas are two such poets who extensively explore human morality and by extension the nature of existence, in their poetry. Their philosophy regarding these themes, however, lay on opposite ends of the spectrum. Dickinson paints a rather noble, romanticized image of death, personifying it in ‘Because I Could Not Stop For Death’ as a perfect gentleman with impeccable manners. Thomas, however, diverges from this traditional religious interpretation of death, portraying the ‘dying of the light’ as a destructive force, dissolving men into madness. His depiction of weather cycles and natural components, however, suggests that he acknowledges it is a desperate struggle against an event which is inevitable.

Dickinson and Thomas paint a very different picture of death and spirituality in their poetry. Dickinson writes as though death was a supremely personal affliction, often from the point of view of a person from ‘beyond the grave’ as in ‘I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died’, in which a family surrounds a loved one’s deathbed, grieving. They are waiting “For that last Onset-when the king/ Be witnessed-in the Room-” (7-8). The oxymoron ‘the last Onset’, ‘last’ denoting ‘end’ and ‘onset’, ‘beginning’, implies Dickinson believes in a life after death. The king is a symbol of God or death, indicating a belief in religion. Thomas shares her belief in a god, and hence an afterlife of some unknown nature. This is evident in his poem, ‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’. He explains that, though a person’s “bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,/ They shall have stars at Elbow and foot”. He urges that we have no reason to fear death if we have faith: “And Death Shall Have No Dominion”. However, we can not assume his image of God is of that of a civil gentleman, as Dickinson depicts in ‘Because I could not stop for Death’. This is a traditional, religious image of a god and contrasts greatly with the god, or ‘life force’ Thomas describes in ‘The force that through the green fuse drives the flower’. Thomas portrays an invisible force which drives his 'green age', a force which has power to both give and take life. This force is nature, contrasting greatly with Dickinson's sure religious ideology. Thomas believes he is part of the cycle of nature, from birth to decay: 'The force that drives the water through the rocks/ Drives [his] red blood'. However, he is “dumb to tell’, he can not comprehend this natural life force which all living things share. Although the thematic concerns of their poetry are similar, their interpretation of death and the afterlife is intensely diverse, Dickinson portraying a traditional religious vision of death, and Thomas a distinctly pantheist view.

Another theme which is often expressed in the writing of both poets is the cycle of one’s life. In the third stanza of ‘Because I could not stop for Death’, Dickinson explicitly communicates her views regarding death, a natural progression of life.

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

She describes a carriage ride in which she is escorted by death, a journey from life to death and ‘eternity’. The imagery of “the school, where Children strove/ At Recess, in the Ring” implies childhood and youth. The ‘Ring’ is reminiscent of the cyclical nature of life. She then passes the “fields of Grazing Grains,” symbolic of adulthood, both fertility and hard work. Finally, they pass “the setting sun” which represents age and the passing of time; the beginning of the end of her life. Dylan Thomas also shares this vision; evident in all of his poetry is the cycle of decay and rebirth, none more so than in his poem 'Fern Hill'. Represented by the 'green grass', in his youth he is innocent and free, the innocence of the 'Garden of Eden' forming an association with the 'apple boughs'. The passing of time is illustrated by the flowing rivers and stars turning overhead. He describes adulthood as an awakening. A biblical allusion referring to 'Adam and Eve' is employed to describe the acquisition of knowledge and end of innocence. Finally, in the last stanza a 'green and dying' man is illustrated, rife with regret of his wasted childhood. Although he 'sung in [his] chains like the sea', he could not escape the 'force' and died, raging 'against the dying of the light'. Although the cyclical nature of life is present in the poetry of both Dickinson and Thomas, each has a different view concerning the actual death of one’s earthly body and spiritual afterlife. Both however accept that one can not escape death.

Many people fear death, it is often seen as a tragic end to one’s life and hence much time, effort and money is invested in prolonging life. Dylan Thomas seems to share this fear of the ‘unknown’ and in his poem ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’ he urges all men, those who are wise, wild, grave or good, not to go quietly, but struggle with a fiery intensity. Conversely, Emily Dickinson is accepting of death, as expressed in ‘Because I could not stop for Death’. Her acceptance of death allows her to calmly lay aside her 'labor and [her] leisure too’ willingly accompanying death to her grave, despite the fact that she may have things she still wishes to accomplish. She describes her grave, an image which usually carries a negative connotation, as ‘a house that seemed/ A swelling of the ground’. In her poem ‘Drowning is not so pitiful’ she advises us not to resist drowning, or fight death, rather allow it to take us gently. She reminds us that though we fear death, our ascension to heaven is assured and that we will face 'the maker's cordial visage'. Her religious belief allows her to overcome her fear of 'drowning'. To resist is 'pitiful' and shows only a lack of faith. In this, the greatest contrast between the beliefs of Dickinson and Thomas is created. Whilst Dickinson suggests we calmly accept the ‘light’, Thomas urges us to ‘rage, rage against the dying of the light’, a mysterious and eternal darkness.

Death, life and immortality are major thematic concerns of both Emily Dickinson and Dylan Thomas. However, their interpretation of death differs greatly. Whilst Thomas seems engrossed in a struggle with death and immortality, Dickinson prefers rather to accept death politely and proceed with faith into the hands of God. Both poets, however, acknowledge that death can not be escaped regardless of one’s approach; it is an inevitable event in the cycle of decay and rebirth.