Deep Personal Emotions: Modern poets deal with deep human emotions. In their poems, they bring out how they, or any modern people, feel happy, sad, lonely, isolated, or nostalgic. Dylan Thomas is no exception. In “Poem in October” and “Fern Hill,” Thomas writes about his nostalgia for childhood. He portrays childhood as a time of joy and innocence. As a boy, he found deep joy in nature. In “Poem in October,” he takes a morning walk to the Welsh countryside on his thirtieth birthday. As he walks, he enjoys the early morning nature of the “harbour and neighbour wood.” He walks in the Autumn rain. The rain is showering down on him and bringing back his memories. As he writes:

“I rose

In rainy autumn

And walked abroad in a shower of all my days.”

“And I saw… a child's

Forgotten mornings when he walked with his mother”

Use of Free Form: Modern poets do not often follow a strict poetic structure. They experiment with the form and structure. We find this in “Poem in October.” Thomas wrote this poem in free/blank verse. It means the poem does not have a rhyme scheme or consistent meter. The poem does, however, follow a pattern of changing line lengths. Each stanza pulses from longer lines to shorter ones and back again. This high and low pattern looks like the countryside hills. This pattern also creates a musical rhythm.

Rich Imagery: Modern poets use rich imagery in their poems. Thomas’s “Poem in October” is full of wonderful images. As he walks, we find beautiful images from nature. He describes the “harbour and neighbour wood.” He hears the “knock of sailing boats” at the shore. He also describes his childhood memories through nature images. When he was a boy, he spoke,

“To the trees and the stones and the fish in the tide.”

Mix of Reality and Imagination: In modern poetry, imagination is as important as reality. Thomas often blends the two. In “Poem in October,” the real walk through the town becomes a journey back into childhood. For example, the poet walks on an Autumn morning. On the hill, the weather changes suddenly. The “sun of October” suddenly becomes “summery.” He goes back to the childhood summer when he walked with his mother. The readers also move with the poet between the natural world and the world of memory. We find another beautiful imagination when the poet sees the faraway church at the seashore from that hilltop. He imagines the tiny church as a snail on the seashore. This blend of reality and imagination is a key style of the modern poets. 

In fine, Dylan Thomas shows many qualities of a modern poet. His poetry is full of deep human emotions and rich imagery. His poetry is fresh, musical, and full of life. Through works like “Poem in October,” he shows that modern poetry can be deeply personal yet timeless.