Listen to this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyWiE1vNSxU
Thomas’s Writing Room———————–>
Things to Keep in Mind in Regards to Theme and Life:
(1) Think about the movement from Eliot to Thomas- Thomas deliberately steps away from Eliot’s ironic effects, hoping to create a new kind of romanticism, one which uses traditional poetic form in a new way. For example, villanelle, a word Prof. Donelan spent some time talking about during class, is something Thomas employs in poems such as “Do not go Gentle into that Good Night,” in order to show how form (i.e. poetic form) allows the poet to temper his passions.
(2) He was very interested in ORDER. Ordering images and patterns in order (no pun intended) to create the impression of unity. The disorder of the high modernists did not attract him.
(3) Biology interested him – idea of unity out of diversity. This is called his “dialectical method,” which is basically this idea that opposites (such as life and death) often work together (i.e. we must live to die, and to die we must have lived). Dylan describes it as: “Each image holds within it the seed of its own destruction.”
(4 ) Substance Abuse- Alcoholism- perhaps this is another way to understand just why he constantly used traditional forms, such as villanelle. We can perhaps note that his use of these forms was a way to enable the poetic voice to temper its passions, the very temperance Thomas himself shunned.
(5) Constant combination of nature (birth/death) and man (birth/death)- natural process of growth and decay ,of “aliveness” and withering in many of his poems.
Thoughts: Reread “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”- What is the poem about? How is his sadness tempered through his use of villanelle? Also, look at “The Hunchback in the Park.” What does it say about art (i.e. the statue)? Is art the only thing that resists decay? Or does art decay as well? Think about what the professor said about the “death of high modernism.”
Also pick out three or four really important biographical facts about him. Post them on this site so everyone can get a chance to see them! Although we are not having section this week you can still take advantage of the virtual resource provided for you here.
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