Personal Choice 16
In My Craft or Sullen Art
In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.
Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas (1914 – 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems Do not go gentle into that good night and And death shall have no dominion, the ‘play for voices’ Under Milk Wood, and stories and radio broadcasts such as A Child's Christmas in Wales. He became widely popular in his lifetime and remained so after his death at the age of 39 in New York City. By then, he had acquired a reputation, which he had encouraged, as a ‘roistering, drunken and doomed poet’. Although Thomas wrote exclusively in the English language, he has been acknowledged as one of the most important Welsh poets of the 20th century. He is noted for his original, rhythmic, and ingenious use of words and imagery. He is regarded as one of the great modern poets.
Poets have always had a licence to invent new words, and many have done so with both historic influence and a wonderful contribution to the language. The other technique the poet has always employed and been forgiven for, and in the most part been encouraged - is an almost excessive engagement with exaggeration. The hyperbole that Thomas employs in this superb example of his work seems to sum up the poet’s craft and calling almost perfectly.
Comments