Dylan Thomas Quick Facts

Dylan Thomas

20th century Welsh poet, short-story writer, playwright, journalist, broadcaster, and scriptwriter

• Full name: Dylan Marlais Thomas
• Birth: October 27, 1914
• Death: November 9, 1953
• Place of Birth: Swansea, South Wales
• Buried: Laugharne, Wales
• Father: D(avid) J(ohn) Thomas
• Mother: Florence Williams Thomas
• Sister: Nancy Marles Thomas
• Spouse: Caitlin Macnamara
• Number of Children: Three (2 sons: Llewelyn Edouard Thomas and Colm Garan Hart Thomas; 1 daughter: Aeronwy Bryn Thomas)
• Education: Swansea Grammar School (attended from 1925 to 1931)
• Known for: the force and vitality of his verbal imagery and for his celebration of scenic aspects of nature
• Notorious for: leading a bohemian lifestyle that included heavy-drinking and philandering

Quote:

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night (1951)

Notable Works:

1934: Eighteen Poems
1936: Twenty-five Poems
1939: The Map of Love
1940: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog
1946: Deaths and Entrances
1951: In Country Sleep
1952: Collected Poems
1953: The Doctor and the Devils
1954: Under Milk Wood (published posthumously)
1955: Adventures in the Skin Trade (published posthumously)
1957: Letters to Vernon Watkins

Did You Know?

• Alongside his reputation as a poet, Thomas is also remembered today for his alcoholism and womanizing.
• Dylan Thomas was not an Englishman. He was a Welshman, but chose to write in English poetic tradition.
• During his tenure as a student at the Swansea Grammar School he showed much interest in the extra-curricular activities than regular studies.
• Later Thomas could realise the value of formal education and regretted over his lack of linguistic command and professional training and lived in fear of his ignorance being found out.
• It is assumed that Thomas’ marriage was a happy one, but a book published by Caitlin after his demise included the fact that almost each day of their conjugal life featured fighting and quarreling.
• Thomas’ reaction to the outbreak of World War II was both cowardly and patriotic. He was afraid of being conscripted and so being killed. He even couldn’t flee to America like W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, hence chose to become a conscientious objector. However, he was saved from being filed for conscientious objector status as he was declared medically unfit for the armed forces.
• During the post-World War II phase, financial need provoked him to give more energy to his profitable short stories and screenplays rather than to his poetry.
• His American tour in 1950, and those that followed in 1952 and 1953, were marked by inebriation, outrageous behaviour, and in some cases, brilliant readings.
• Thomas’ attempt to secure regular employment with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and various film companies was hindered by his notoriety as a heavy-drinker.
• Even though Thomas planned to use the profits from his readings in America to pay back his growing debts at home, he squandered most of his earnings before he made his way back to Wales.
• Thomas died at the age of 39 in New York City of pneumonia caused by excess of drinking.
• When Thomas’ life ended prematurely of alcoholism, the world regarded his demise as a symbol of the tragic life of the modern artist.

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Conceit/Metaphysical Conceit

Generally conceit is a figure of speech and the term generally denotes “idea”, “concept”, “opinion”, or a “theme”, especially one that is fantastic or eccentric to certain extent. In terminological sense, it is an elaborate, often extravagant metaphor or simile making an analogy between two totally dissimilar things or images. The point of relation between them is difficult to determine. This comparison jolts the mind. During the Renaissance period, the term indicated any particularly fanciful expression of wit, and was later used pejoratively of outlandish poetic metaphors. The term is generally associated in the contemporary usage with the 17th century English metaphysical poets. It is generally considered that John Donne is the originator of conceits. But this claim is not fully plausible, since the use of such device can also be found in the works of Petrarch and the Elizabethan poets.

The modern literary critics have used the term to mean simply the style of extended and heightened metaphor common in the Renaissance and particularly in the 17th century, without any particular indication of value. Within this critical sense, conceits are generally placed into two categories:
 

1. Petrarchan conceit: Petrarchan conceits are conventional comparisons imitated from the love sonnets of the Italian poet Petrarch. It is also known as Elizabethan conceit. In this type of conceit human experiences are described in terms of an extravagant metaphor or hyperbolic comparison, like the stock comparison of eyes to the sun, which Shakespeare employs in his sonnet 130:

"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun."

2. Metaphysical conceit: John Donne is the chief begetter of the metaphysical conceit. It is a more intricate and intellectual device. It startles and at the same time amuses the readers. In the metaphysical conceit, metaphors have a much more purely conceptual and thus tenuous relationship to the thing being compared. The most outstanding paradigm of conceit appears in Donne’s A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, where the poet compares the two lovers’ souls to a draftsman’s compass:

“If they be two, they are two so
As stiffe twin copmpasses are two,
Thy soule the fixt foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if the ’other doe.”

The central difference between a metaphysical conceit and an Elizabethan conceit is that the former is an organic (structural) part of the poem, while the latter is a mere decorative device. The Elizabethan conceit does not convey any sorts of philosophies, while the metaphysical conceit conveys a wide range of philosophy.

References

“Conceit.” Wikipedia. 2008. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.20 September 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceit>.

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John Donne’s Treatment of Love and Women

The literature of the 17^th century is rife with conflicting as well as novel poetic ideas. Being the major metaphysical poet of that era, John Donne contributed much in the escalation of the flow of that literary transformation. In his poetry he sought to establish a view of love and women that was diametrically opposite to the conventional philosophy of courtly love of the great poetic personalities like Sidney and Petrarch. From this point of view, his approach to love was much brave and original than the poets of the preceding generations.

The most original contribution of John Donne in love poetry is perhaps the blending of thought with imagination, passion with intellect. This intellectuality is expressed in the conceits he frequently employs in his poems. His conceits are based on the similes and metaphors drawn from all branches of knowledge such as theology, cosmology, philosophy, medicine, chemistry, law, etc. The Elizabethan poets based their conceits on the conventional physical comparisons, but Donne, on the other hand, moulded his ones by scholastic and fanciful comparisons. He is exceptionally good at creating unusual unions between different elements in order to illustrate his point and form a convincing argument in his poems. His most outstanding and striking example of conceit appears in A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, where the poet compares the two lovers’ souls to a draftsman’s compass:

“If they be two, they are two so
As stiffe twin copmpasses are two,
Thy soule the fixt foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if the ’other doe.”

Donne looked upon the relationship of love between man and woman from both sensuous and realistic standpoints. In scrutinising the pragmatic sides of love Donne supports the necessity of both the body and the soul. This attitude is another aspect that distinguishes Donne from both the Petrarchan and the Platonic school of thoughts. In his poems Donne seeks to establish the relationship between the body and the soul. He assumed that physical intercourse without spiritual union cannot be considered as love; such passion is nothing but momentary attraction. Again, true spiritual union cannot be accomplished without the union of the bodies. Thus true love is engendered by the mating of both the bodies and the souls, and such a love lasts long. For example, in the poem The Canonization physical love is regarded as a holy emotion like the worship of devotee of God. After physical intercourse the lovers feel a strong emotional passion for each other, and it is this fire of passion that unites their souls together. Thus physical love helps to form a spiritual bond between the lovers. However, in A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, Donne’s treatment of love is sensuous. In this poem his statement reverberates the Platonic assertion that physical contact is unnecessary for the formation of spiritual love. A truer and more refined love, Donne explains comes from a connection at the mind, the union of two souls as one. The Physical presence is irrelevant if a true bond of the minds has occurred, joining a pair of lovers’ souls eternally.

Another novel aspect in Donne’s poetry was the difference in angle in which he looked at womankind. The followers of Petrarchan tradition depicted women as deities. They only portrayed their beauty and positive sides. But with a sharp contrast to the Petrarchan followers, Donne was bold enough to expose the negative sides of women. He sceptically believes that women are neither deities nor fully honest; they possess all the human shortcomings. Thus Donne’s attitude towards women is materialistic, pessimistic, and occasionally misogynistic. For example, in the poem Goe, and Catche a Falling Starre Donne comments on the faithlessness of women. He ironically remarks that it is totally impossible to find a constant woman in this world. However, he is not always cynical towards women, because when he finds a woman really honest and faithful he deeply admires her virtues. For instance, in the poem Twicknam Garden he cynically says that all women are false; they cannot remain faithful to a single lover. But he shows a ray of optimism when he says that only his beloved is true, since she is faithful to a single lover. He greatly admires her for this particular quality, which is, undoubtedly, a rare virtue in womanhood.

The Petrarchan poets sang about the pains and sorrows of love, the sorrows of detachment, and the pains of rejection by the cruel mistress. But Donne, in sharp contrast to the Petrarchan poets, considered love to be mutual and self-sufficient. In the poems The Canonization and The Sunne Rising, he expresses the delight of mutual love-making, without reference to outside interference, and with no hint of inadequacy in the beloved. Donne often tells about separation but in an unconventional way. For example, A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning Donne tells us about the mystical union between him and his beloved despite their discreet position.

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Symbol

A symbol is anything which stands for or denotes something else, not by exact resemblance, but by vague suggestion or statement. Symbols are of two types:

1. Universal/conventional/traditional/public symbol.
2. Private/personal symbol.

 The functions of  symbols are as follows:

• Symbols are oblique or indirect means of communication.
• Symbolic words are not merely connotative, but also evocative and emotive.
• Symbolic words convey a deeper/inner meaning along with their surface meaning, generally an abstract idea, principle, or quality.
• A single word can be used to express several associated ideas and images, and evoke certain emotional responses. For instance, the word “rose” merely connotes a flower but it may be employed by a writer to evoke associated thoughts of beauty, delicacy or even pride or violence, and at the same time the emotional overtones of admiration, love, compassion or even anger and jealousy.
• Through symbols a writer can express much more than by the use of ordinary words.
• Symbols make the language rich and expressive.
• Symbols help the writer to convey concepts which are inexpressible by their very nature. Thus a symbol can be used to convey abstract and metaphysical truths.

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Proserpina

In Roman mythology, Proserpina (Greek equivalent: Persephone, also Kore: “the maiden”) is the goddess of the dead (queen of the underworld) and the fertility of the earth. She was the daughter of Jupiter (also Jove; Greek equivalent: Zeus), the king of the gods, and Ceres (Greek equivalent: Demeter; she is also Jupiter’s sister), the goddess of grain and harvest. Proserpina was a very innocent and charming young maiden. She was the jewel of her mother’s heart. Ceres’ intense love for her daughter led her to keep Proserpina away from the company of the malignant forces of nature. So Proserpina was able to live a very peaceful and carefree life on the very lap of nature, far from evils as well as the Olympian gods. But this peace was instantly destroyed after Pluto (also Dis; Greek equivalent: Hades; he is also Jupiter’s brother), the god of the dead (king of the underworld), abducted Proserpina (she is also his niece) and carried her off to the underworld (the underworld itself was often called the Hades). The incident took place in Sicily, at the fountain of Arethusa near Enna (formerly known as Castrogiovanni), where she was picking flowers with the nymphs (also Oceanids, the daughters of Oceanus and his wife Tethys). Greatly frustrated by the incident, Ceres searched for her daughter in every corner of the earth but could not find her anywhere. Ultimately Ceres was able to learn about Proserpina’s fate from Sol (Greek equivalent: Helios), the god of the sun.

Even though it was Pluto who was responsible for her daughter’s abduction, Ceres blamed Jupiter alone for the offense. Out of anguish she stopped the growth of all sorts of vegetation. She decided not to go back to the Olympus until she finds her daughter back. She kept wandering on the earth, making it a sterile land at every step. All the vegetation died and famine devastated the earth. The hungry mortals as well the gods found no other alternative than pleading before Jupiter to tackle that grievous situation.

Being concerned of the existence of the earthlings, Jupiter sent Mercury (Greek equivalent: Hermes), the messenger of the gods, to bring Proserpina back to her mother. But Pluto conspired to make Proserpina the queen of the underworld, so before letting her go, he asked her to eat a pomegranate seed, the food of the dead. Due to this reason Proserpina was unable to return from the underworld. Eventually, Jupiter made a rule that she would have to live eight months of each year with her mother and the rest four months with her husband as the queen of the underworld. Her return to the earth symbolised the arrival of the spring, a period when nature revives its lost colour and splendour. Contrariwise, her going back to the underworld symbolised the advent of the winter, a phase when nature loses its colour and splendour. From this point of view she is often called a life-death-rebirth deity.

In ancient Greece Proserpina was primarily worshiped on two grounds. During her eight months’ staying with her mother on earth she was worshiped as “the maiden”, and for the remaining four months with her husband in the underworld as the goddess of the dead.

Proserpina’s abduction inspired many woks of art. She has been the model for numerous sculptures, paintings, and literary works.

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Emily Dickinson Quick Facts

Emily Dickinson

19^th century American poet

• Full Name: Emily Elizabeth Dickinson
• Also Called: New England Mystic
• Birth: December 10, 1830
• Death: May 15, 1886
• Place of Birth: Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
• Place of Death: Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
• Cause of Death: Bright's disease
• Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius 
• Nationality: American
• Father: Edward Dickinson (1803-1874)
• Mother: Emily Norcross Dickinson (1804-1882)
• Siblings:

1. William Austin Dickinson (1829-1895)
2. Lavinia "Vinnie" Norcross Dickinson (1833-1899)

• Sexual Orientation: Straight
• Marital Status: Unmarried
• Known for: Her atypical, compressed, and meticulous poetic style, which disregarded the traditional rules of poetics
• Allegation: According to popular traditions she was sensitive and reclusive in nature, and had an unrequited or secret love

Editions of Dickinson’s Poems:

The Poems of Emily Dickinson (3 volumes,1955)
The Letters of Emily Dickinson (3 volumes,1958)
The Manuscript Books of Emily Dickinson (2 volumes,1981)

Quote:

“I died for Beauty – but was scarce
Adjusted in the Tomb
When One who died for Truth was lain
In an adjoining Room –“
I died for Beauty – but was scarce (449)

Did You Know?

• Although Dickinson is highly deemed as one of the most prominent poets in the field of American literature, during her lifetime she was chiefly known as a gardener rather than as a poet.
• She never married.
• She wore only white dresses for almost her entire adult life.
• Although she was alleged to be a recluse, in reality, she was very much sociable. She frequently entertained guests at her home during her 20s and 30s.
• She wrote nearly 2000 poems, most of which were published posthumously. During her lifetime she published only 7 poems.
• Dickinson never named her poems; the titles were given by the early editors of her poems. Popularly her poems are named by the first line.

N.B: This article was last updated on January 09, 2018

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Venus

In Roman mythology, Venus (Greek equivalent: Aphrodite, also called: Cytherea) was originally considered as a deity of gardens and fields but later identified with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Homer described her as the daughter of Jupiter (also called: Jove; Greek equivalent: Zeus) and Dione, the daughter of Epimethius. But in Theogony, Hesiod, the other Greek poet, however, opined that she was born of sea-foam. Requested by his mother Gaea (also called: Ge), the earth goddess, Saturn (Greek equivalent: Cronus) dethroned and castrated his father Uranus, the god of the heavens. The detached testicles of Uranus fell into the sea, and from them emerged the goddess Venus. Since her birth she was a full-fledged sensual woman. According to Homeric tradition she was the wife of Vulcan (Greek equivalent: Hephaestus), the god of fire and fire-based arts. But Venus was alleged to be often unfaithful to her husband. Among her many lovers were Mars (Greek equivalent: Ares), the god of war by whom she became the mother of the famous son Cupid (Greek equivalent: Eros), the god of love, and the daughter Harmonia, the wife of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes. Venus also formed love affairs with numerous mortals. Anchises was one of them, by whom Venus had Aeneas, the Trojan prince. The most notable mortal lover was perhaps Adonis, the handsome shepherd. Venus was the rival of Proserpina, (Greek equivalent: Persephone), the goddess of the underworld, for the love of Adonis.

During the imperial periods she was worshiped under several aspects. As Venus Genetrix, she was worshiped as the mother of the hero Aeneas, the founder of the Roman people; as Venus Felix, the bringer of good fortune; as Venus Victrix, the bringer of victory; and as Venus Verticordia, the protector of feminine chastity. But ultimately she was worshiped exclusively as the goddess of love and beauty.

Although she was associated with love and beauty, many times she proved her cruel sides by destroying those who dared to deny her excellence or surpass her beauty. Venus’ vindictiveness is particularly seen in her indifferent treatment towards her daughter-in-law Psyche (Greek equivalent: Yuch).

Venus played a significant role in the instigation of the Trojan War. The war started when the Trojan prince Paris (also called Alexander, in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecuba, king and queen of Troy) gave the golden apple (on which there was inscribed: “for the fairest”) depriving Juno (Greek equivalent: Hera) and Minerva (Greek equivalent: Athena, also called: Athene). Juno promised to Paris that she would make him an influential ruler of Europe and Asia. Minerva told him that she would help him to achieve great military success by ensuring his victory against the Greeks. But Venus’ bribe was more appealing to Paris, since she pledged to give him the fairest woman (Helen, the wife of Menelaus) in the world. Paris’ subsequent abduction of Helen kindled the primary cause of the Trojan War. In the war Venus favoured the Trojans. In the Warfield she got wounded by the Greek hero Diomedes (king of Árgos), when she tried to rescue Paris.

References

Khan, Farhad. An Encyclopedia of Classical Literature. Dhaka: Protik, 1996.

“Aphrodite.” Microsoft Encarta. DVD-ROM. Redmond: Microsoft, 2005.

“Venus.” Microsoft Encarta. DVD-ROM. Redmond: Microsoft, 2005.

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