And death shall have no dominion by Dylan Thomas summary

 

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

 

Dylan Thomas was an eminent poet of the twentieth century. He adopted subjective form of writing. Hence, he was known as the Neo-romantic writer. His writings were deeply personal and had themes such as childhood, innocence, nature, nostalgia death, love and religion.

In this poem ‘And death shall have no dominion’ Dylan Thomas celebrates the eternal existence and perpetual strength of the human soul. Death can only perish the physical body, the soul shall remain intact even after the painful death.

The phrase ‘And death shall have no dominion’ used as a refrain in the poem and each stanza begins and ends with this statement. The poet asserts the fact that death shall not have a supreme authority over human life. Death is inevitable and universal. Every living being must taste it. It affects everyone alike irrespective of their race, skin, color and social status etc. The physical body including bones shall blend with nature.

The body becomes celestial after death.  Death is indeed a royal road to the eternal world. There is an element of sanity even in madness or even a madman attains sanity after death. A drowned man shall resurrect and retain his joy and glory.  Moreover, death can destroy lovers but their love remains intact. Death is not the end but, rather the beginning of eternal life.

Speaker invites the attention of the readers to a graveyard located in the deep sea. They died so courageously. Perhaps, they might be fought in the battles and lost the strength of their muscles. They might be tied to the wheel and exposed to different kinds of tortures. Still, they keep their indomitable spirit. The poet perhaps talks about the medieval warriors. Their faith is so strong and determinate.

Dylan Thomas is noted for the unusual word combinations. The phrase ‘Unicorn evil’ stands for the good and evil run inside those people. Who struggled a lot and died. Unicorn is a mythical creature represents purity and grace. They could be shattered or destroyed completely, but it is not possible to defeat their soul.

Now, they are far away from the disturbances of material life. They will not be able to hear the loud noises made by the waves. A real flower lifts its head even after the heavy blows of the wind and rain. Just like a soul survives after death. Even in madmen remain something just like nails remain forever, that is soul.

The soul comes out by striking against the death. Just like daisies bloom after the darkest night. Which blooms in the sun and remains even after the sunset.  Death is not the end but, rather the beginning of eternal life.