FERN HILL
Thomas Dylan's Fern Hill is one of its best poems and for this reason ithas invited more debate and interpretation than any of his other poems. Thepoem revolves around the theme of Time and how each one of us is a victimof this mighty force. Despite the pleasant depiction of childhood'scarefree days, the poem actually contains sad rather melancholicundertones. This is because the poem is less about poet's carefreechildhood on the far, and more about Time's strict restrictions placed onone's happiness and pleasure. The poet maintains that while childhood is anessentially worry-free time when one's attention is fixed more onextraction of maximum pleasure from harmless activities, Time exists as theconstant reminder of limitation and restriction. Time reminds us thatchildhood days will not last forever and we shall soon be entering a moredifficult phase of life and eventually meet death. Time thus symbolizesdeath and an ending in the novel. It exists as the harsh, brutal andunyielding reminder of life coming to an end.Golden in the mercy of his means, (12-14)Fern Hill is essentially autobiographic in nature. It reflects the actual
The poetmakes it clear that childhood may be free of problems of adult life, butTime doesn't let us celebrate it for very long. For achild it might prove a little too complex. Like some otherchildren poems and stories, Fern Hill is essentially meant for an adult whocan discern the theme and understand the message the poem contains. The reason being the universal message andtheme that Fern Hill carries. The poet despite all itsinnocence and beauty is rather sad in tone as the last line clearlyindicate:Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,Time held me green and dyingThough I sang in my chains like the sea. rotting apples lay by the hundreds under gnarled trees. The night above the dingle starry,Time let me hail and climb (3-4)And nothing I cared, at my sky blue trades, that time allowsIn all his tuneful turnings so few and such morning songs (42-43)While the poem itself is beautiful and contains certain freshness, it isstill not exactly a work that children would want to read. " Everything about thepoem is based on real-life experience of the poet including the existenceof the orchard mentioned in the poem. Wepicked red and golden apples from boughs that almost touched the ground"(237). Theimagery is complex and the references to time may be outside a child'sexperience. " (Scott, 1998)It is for this reason that Fern Hill has attracted more adult audience. "Although "Fern Hill" is one ofThomas's more accessible poems, children will have difficulty with it.
Common topics in this essay:
Fern Hill,
Hill Craik,
Hill Thomas's,
fern hill,
Martha Scott,
green dying sang,
sang chains sea,
chains sea 53-54,
held green dying,
dying sang chains,
green dying,
scott 1998,
universal message,
childhood experiences,
aunt's farm,
hill essentially,
sea 53-54,
mercy means,
mentioned poem,
|
Acceptance Essays
