Fern Hill

Poetry | Dylan Thomas
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What role does time play in “Fern Hill”?

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What role does time play in “Fern Hill”? ✪✪✪

In Dylan Thomas’s (1914 – 1953) “Fern Hill” (1945), Time is the most powerful and meaningful presence. It is not only a background idea but a living force. Time gives the poet freedom in childhood. Then takes freedom away as he grows older. Through Time, the poet understands both joy and loss.

Time as a Kind and Gentle Friend: At the beginning of the poem, Time is loving and merciful. It allows the child to live freely and happily in nature. The poet says,

“Time let me hail and climb 

Golden in the heydays of his eyes.”

Here, Time is personified as a kind friend. Time is watching the child with smiling eyes. The young Dylan Thomas plays under the apple trees. He runs through the barns and lives without worry. He says,

“Time let me play and be golden.”

style="font-weight: 400;">This shows that Time gave him the gift of innocence, laughter, and freedom.

Time as the Giver and Taker of Life: As the poem moves on, Time slowly changes its nature. The poet begins to realize that the happy days of youth cannot last forever. Time, once gentle, becomes powerful and unstoppable. The poet says,

“In the sun that is young once only.”

This means youth and happiness come only once in life. Later, Time takes away the beauty and innocence of childhood. Yet, even while growing older, the poet still sings.

Time as the Symbol of Life’s Truth: In the end, Time becomes a symbol of life’s eternal rhythm. It gives life, it changes life, and it ends life. The poet finally says,

“Time held me green and dying, 

Though I sang in my chains like the sea.”

Here, Time controls both youth and death. But the poet’s song, like the sea, never stops. It shows man’s spirit that lives beyond Time’s limits.

In “Fern Hill,” Time is both a creator and a destroyer. It gives childhood its golden beauty and later takes it away. Yet, Dylan Thomas accepts this truth with peace. Time may hold him in chains, but his song of life and memory will never fade.

 

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Dylan Thomas
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