Comment on the theme of nostalgia in Dylan Thomas’s poetry

Answer

Discuss the theme of nostalgia in the poems of Dylan Thomas. [2020, 2016] ✪✪✪

Nostalgia means a sweet sadness for the past. Dylan Thomas (1914–1953) was deeply nostalgic. He felt deep emotion for his early life in Wales. His poems remember childhood, his mother, his seaside town, and lost innocence. He turns memory into music and dreams. His nostalgia is full of light, rain, and song. In poems like “Poem in October” and “In My Craft or Sullen Art,” the past becomes holy.

Memory of Childhood Joy: In “Poem in October,” Thomas celebrates his thirtieth birthday. He walks from the town to the hill near the sea. The quiet morning reminds him of his early days. He says,

“It was my thirtieth year to heaven.”

The poet leaves the “still sleeping town” and climbs the “hill’s shoulder.” The rain, birds, and wind bring back his boyhood. He remembers “a child’s forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother.” This is deep nostalgia. He wishes to live again those pure, happy moments. The sea, the heron, and the hill become doors to his past. Childhood becomes heaven on earth.

Return to the Mother’s Love: When the poet remembers his walk with his mother, he feels her love again. He says,

“Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother 

Through the parables of sunlight.”

This is one of the most touching pictures in the poem. The “mother” is both real and spiritual. She represents warmth, care, and innocence. The poet’s memory of her becomes prayer-like. His nostalgia is not just for childhood but for the lost bond of love. The “parables of sunlight” show how simple memories become holy lessons in life.

Memory of Ann Jones: In “After the Funeral (In Memory of Ann Jones),” Thomas remembers a woman of his village, Ann Jones. She was simple and kind. He says,

“Her flesh was meek as milk.”

After her death, the poet stands alone. He remembers