Exploring Innocence and Experience in "Fern Hill" by Dylan Thomas
"Fern Hill" by Dylan Thomas is an autobiographical poem reflecting on the journey from innocence to experience through childhood memories. Divided into two parts, the poem vividly describes the poet's carefree days on his uncle's farm juxtaposed with the loss of innocence and realization of the passage of time. Themes of nostalgia, transition, and the loss of innocence are intricately woven throughout the verses.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Fern Hill Dylan Thomas It is an autobiographical poem in which Thomas uses memories of childhood days to explore the theme of journey from innocence to experience.
Structure The poem can be divided into two parts : the first three stanzas are related to the poet s experience as a child when he used to spend his summer holidays at his uncle s farm while the last three stanzas are about an awakening in the child that signifies the loss of the world of innocence. At the centre of this loss of the world of innocence are the myths of the fall of Adam & Eve . The world of innocence (child )is described in the first three stanzas is like the Garden of Eden in which the child is in complete union with nature (timeless world of Edenic bliss).
Analysis (stanza 1-3) Recalling the past is immediately a clear theme of the poem . The speaker fondly remembers his days on the farm and he marvels at the happy memories of his childhood . Now he is an adult . It was a happy time and the child was favorite around the farm and town . Two main characters are introduced : the narrator and time . The concept of time is personified as being a parent or guardian figure that allowed the poet to embark on adventures. The opening stanza is full of pastoral imagery with the poem mentioning apple boughs , starry skies , trees & leaves ,and other natural objects. The poet points out daisies , light , river , apple trees and the sun through out . He also describes activities like singing , playing and being carefree. Recalling the events of childhood leads the narrator to feel happy and to associate each memory with fondness and laughter . The happy image continues when the speaker talks about the happy yard singing as the farm were home . The feeling of carpediem comes back when the speaker mentions the sun that it was only young once and prays that time play 7 be \Golden in the mercy of his means .
Analysis The child is described as green , carefree , with green having the dual meaning of being na ve and young . The child is na ve , he does not yet understand time . In the 3rdstanza , the poet slowly moves towards the transition between the world of innocence and the world of experience . We are given additional description of the child s pleasure on farm . Time is described as playing lovely . The child hears and sees the farm in his dreams . He dreams of owls , night jars , horses on the farm .
Analysis (stanza 4-6) The speaker s sleeping is symbolic . It ends in a flashing in the dark . This flashing is a kind of an awakening . In this awakening , the child (speaker) initiates into the world of maturity . It is also referring to the loss of innocence which equates Adam & Eve who had slept after the fall from the Grace of God. This initiation of the world of maturity entails the loss of Edenic bliss , innocence , grace and freedom . Moreover, The poet loses creative imagination and fantasy in which a union with nature was possible . The poet once again contemplates on the memories of his childhood but this time awareness becomes dominant. The poem displays the happiness of the young speaker and also points out how oblivious he was that youth was passing to never come back . The initial happy tone of the poem undergoes a major shift at the end of the poem . The poet redirects the mood from that of joy to lamentation . There is a sudden realization of the reality the speaker seems to face ; the past he was celebrating is nothing more than a fleeting joy . Neither his innocence nor those playful days will ever come back . In the last line , the poet refers to his chained situation in the world of experience . Now he is in chains , green color is withered now . So, the poem is a journey from childhood to manhood . When manhood comes , man suffers from agony .
