traditional patterns of meter and stanza pattern But in Poem in October Thomas uses the verse form as the poet uses the syllabic meter but there is no specified number of stresses to set it aside like any specific metrical pattern However this syllabic metrical pattern has created a superb lyrical quality of the poem relevant to the theme Subject matter or theme Theme is considered the oxygen of any literary work The poem's theme is recalling the past or childhood memories Critical synopsis of the Poem The poet has originally described that he has crossed another milestone on the road to death On the morning of his thirtieth birthday the world around him seems to belong to him This is his world Outside the city he observes landscapes and natural phenomena in a mood of almost religious joy But his mind is not limited to the present and its surroundings His mind goes back to childhood and he remembers some childhood experiences From what he has seen the present and past differences are evident The poet feels heavy nostalgia while describing his childhood He has illustrated it as legends and parables That is why he becomes a child again and finds the true joy of his long-dead childhood Thus it turns into a deeply moving poem where Thomas finds himself both a man and a child in his thirties Artistic devices For artistic devices the poem is rich in imagery and symbolism The images became symbols by carrying the deep thoughts and states of the poet's mind Life symbolises the journey to death and the word' heaven' proclaims death at the poem's outset It was my thirtieth year to heaven Woke to my hearing from harbor and neighbour wood Surrealistic images of nature symbolize God's glory Childhood symbolically illustrates innocence and moral and spiritual lessons Adulthood symbolizes baffling problems of life and the vanishing of time towards death like an iceberg We also find the thickness of similes metaphors paradoxes allusion puns etc thus the philosophic idea of the poet as to life and death makes it a religious one The poem's message As soon as the vision comes it goes away The last stanza begins by repeating the words And there could I marvel my birthday Away but the weather turned around Delighted to see this fleeting vision the poet returns to the prayer that ends the poem O may my heart s truth Still be sung On this high hill in a year s turning Without any idea of what kind of change a year will bring - what kind of vision or artistic form it will bring that is why the poet frankly prays that this kind of praise for God should be continued for giving us the opportunity to carry on and enjoy our life speculatively In short Poem in October is one of modern poetry's best works of art It presents a moving picture of nature that the poet enjoyed as a child in his small town The poet indirectly represents urban civilization where people live static and hectic lives As Collins says A passionate love of nature linked to childhood memories produced a beauty that touches the heart and stirs the sense