And Death Shall Have No Dominion

Word Choice and Figurative Language

And death shall have no dominion.

Dead man 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.

Reader Response

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.

• the reader understands the poem is about death and being reborn through death
• earthly feelings are not of the afterlife/death realm
• whatever is wrong on earth death will correct, and make right (mad/sane, lost love/found, sink/rise... etc)
• initially reader is sad because death is a heavy subject
• the poem shines a positive light on death, giving the reader hope
• death is not the be all end all
• there are different perceptions of the poem
• ultimately the poem suggests that death doesn't hold power over people, it is not in control of their life

Theme

Structure of the Poem

• Lyrical poem
• This poem has three, nine line stanzas
• There is no rhyme scheme
• The rhythmical pattern is mostly iambic tetrameter

By Dylan Thomas

Tone & Mood

• The tone of the writer is hopeful and confident
• " Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; Though lovers be lost love shall not"
• The mood of the poem may come across depressing, but is actually positive
• " Twisting on racks when sinews give way, strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break"

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.

Stanza 1: Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; Though lovers be lost love shall not;

Stanza 2: They lying long shall not die windily;

Twisting on racks when sinews give way,

And Death Shall Have No Dominion - Romans 6:9 ‘We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.’

Stanza 1: Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; - Revelation 20:13 ‘The sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead in them…’

Stanza 2: Under the windings of the sea They lying long shall not die windily; - Revelation 20:13 ‘The sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead in them…’ And the unicorn evils run them through; - unicorn symbolizing God

Alliteration

Assonance

Allusion

Stanza 1: Though lovers be lost love shall not;

Imagery

Personification

Stanza 3: Where blew a flower may a flower no more Lift its head to the blows of the rain;

Stanza 3: Though they be mad and dead as nails,

Stanza 1: Though they go mad they shall be sane,

Stanza 2: And the unicorn evils run them through;

- The unicorn is a symbol of Christ and has no association with evils.

Death and Mankind -

Dead man 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,

Creation –

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,

Sea –

Though they sink though the sea they shall rise again;

Under the windings of the sea

They lying long shall not die windily

No more gulls cry at their ears

Or waves break loud of the seashores;

Simile

Paradox

Metaphor

Stanza 1: They shall have stars at elbow and foot;

Stanza 2: Faith in their hands shall snap in two,

Stanza 3: Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;

Time Period

• Written 1933
• Between WW1 and WW2

Life influences

• Welsh
• His father was an English Professor
• At 16 he became a freelance journalist
• Lived amongst people who experienced war and death (WW1)
• Became friends with many later famous people, including composers, painters, and artists.
• Met Bert Trick who challenged him to write this poem at the age of 19.

Influences

Theme

• Although people die physically, their souls live forever.
• Do not fear death because it isn't the end

Plot

• Stanza 1: Death strips away the humans' physical body and leaves the immortal soul
• Stanza 2: Even through human suffering on Earth, the soul does not perish.
• Stanza 3: Shifts focus to nature, cycle of rebirth and a new beginning

Characters

• Stanza 1: Dead humans
• Stanza 2: Humans being tortured & a unicorn (representing God)
• Stanza 3: Seagulls, Flowers, and the Sun

Setting

• Stanza 1: On earth, the skeletons of humans with their souls above resting among the stars.
• Stanza 2: Under the sea and torture devices
• Stanza 3: All of creation. Earth, water, sky.

Discussion Questions

Question 2:

Essentially the word dominion means something is in control/has power over you, it is above, and greater than you, no way you can change it. The title of the poem is And Death Shall Have No Dominion, in what ways does death hold dominion over people? In what way does it control your everyday activity and actions? If death didn't hold dominion over people how would their lives be different? How would they be the same?

Question 1: What does Dylan Thomas mean by ‘And Death Shall Have No Dominion’? What is another way of expressing this conviction? What is the purpose of repetition of this particular line? Can you find other repetitive images?

And death shall have no dominion.

Dead man 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.

The End

And Death Shall Have No Dominion