Bring out the religious elements in the poem “Poem in October.”
Mention and discuss the religious elements in Dylan Thomas' poems NU Or Bring out the religious elements in the poem Poem in October NU Dylan Thomas s - Poem in October written in celebrates the poet s thirtieth birthday The poet wakes up early on his birthday He takes a morning walk in the Welsh countryside The beauty of nature takes him back to his childhood summers The poem is full of religious images and feelings In this poem nature appears holy and childhood memories feel sacred The poet celebrates life as a gift from God He prays for his joy to stay forever We will discuss the religious elements of this poem below Thirtieth Year to Heaven We find the first religious element in the very first line of Poem in October Thomas begins It was my thirtieth year to heaven Here Thomas sees his life as a spiritual
journey toward heaven Birthdays are not only about age but also about being closer to God This opening gives the poem a religious tone It tells us that Dylan Thomas is a very religious poet We find more religious elements as the poem unfolds Nature as a Holy Place Thomas describes nature in religious terms He describes the early morning prayer-like sound of water The morning beckonWith water praying The poet imagines that the water is making a prayer-like sound calm and continuous Moreover the poet sees a heron on the early morning seashore He describes it in religious terms the heronPriested shore He imagines the heron as a priest blessing the land In Thomas s setting we also find a church near the seashore When he climbs the hill the faraway town looks tiny The church near the seashore looks like a tiny snail with its horns Hence the poet sets a connection between nature and religion early in the poem It tells us that nature and the poet himself are parts of God s plan Childhood Memories Thomas also describes his joyful childhood memories in religious terms In this poem the beautiful summer-like nature takes him back to his childhood summers when he walked with his mother He writes that he walked with his mother Through the parablesOf sun lightAnd the legends of the green chapels Parables are religious stories from the Bible Chapels are places of worship The trees and woods where he roamed as a boy are like green chapels for him It turns the countryside into a holy church of nature The Poet s Prayer The woods river and sea bring back the poet s childhood memories The rivers woods and sea are not just natural places Nature is a holy creation where God s presence can be felt The poet remembers he felt deep joy in the trees stones and fish in the tide as a boy This joy is called the truth of his joy For him this joy itself is a divine truth Then Thomas ends the poem with a prayer He prays O may my heart s truthStill be sung This is like asking God to keep his heart pure and joyful so that he can find the same truth of joy in his future birthdays In conclusion Dylan Thomas mixes nature memory and religion in Poem in October The countryside becomes a holy place and the child s joy becomes a spiritual truth Religious words like heaven praying parables and chapels make the poem feel like a hymn of thanks to God