h1

%0 Thesis
%A Romich, Tanja S.
%T “My camel’s eye will needle through the shroud” : an Analysis of Dylan Thomas’s “Altarwise by owl-light” Sonnets with Particular Focus on their Intertextuality
%I RWTH Aachen University
%V Dissertation
%C Aachen
%M RWTH-2015-00834
%P 239 Bl.
%D 2015
%Z Prüfungsjahr: 2014. - Publikationsjahr: 2015
%Z Aachen, Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2015
%X Many of Dylan Thomas’s poems seem to be straightforward and their meaning quite easy to grasp. Yet other poems are not at all easily accessible, at least not at a first reading, and puzzle many readers and critics alike. The sonnets of the cycle “Altarwise by owl-light” (Collected Poems, 58ff.) have an enigmatic quality to them which originates from Thomas’s frequent references to other texts. One of the major and most obvious sources of these intertextual references is the Bible. However, we also find quotations and images from varied works of English and American literature, from legends, from Greek myths, and from American films. A vast majority of the images Thomas takes from foreign texts are not implemented in ‘pure’ form in his sonnets, but in ‘processed’ form: their contexts are changed to give them a new meaning or add a further level of possible interpretation, or they are parodied or used paradoxically.The justification of the existence or non-existence of God or a Divine Being and the position of institutionalised religion or a different creed are two subjects which Thomas had to encounter from early childhood onward. These problems pervade his work in word and image. They are nourished by the experiences of his early childhood which manifest themselves in the contrast between the devout belief of his mother Florence on the one hand and the atheism of his father David John on the other. Thomas’s poetry often seems to portray the struggle between these two attitudes. With the help of literature he had read, Thomas attempted to find the solution to an intellectual problem which bothered him almost all his life and which he had never been able to solve. He changed and adopted what he found in foreign literature and art and used it to suit his own purpose and opinion. However, Thomas did not seem quite sure what this opinion actually was, and this accounts for the enigmatic quality of many of his poems.The starting point for my thesis is the state of the art in research on Dylan Thomas. The main part of this thesis is divided into three major sections. The first section is concerned with Thomas’s biography; its subdivisions are designed to illuminate three aspects of Thomas’s life which might prove helpful when approaching the problem of intertextuality in Thomas’s sonnets: his Welsh upbringing, the religious views of those who influenced him while he grew up, and the literature Thomas read during his childhood and early adulthood. The biographical section is followed by a chapter on intertextuality. It deals with the definition of intertextuality, the forms it can take and the consequences it bears for writers and readers. Finally, the third part is concerned with the analysis of Thomas’s sonnet cycle “Altarwise by owl-light”. After each sonnet’s close reading and interpretation, I investigate its relation to its pre-texts, how these pre-texts are used, and what consequences these intertextual references have for the overall religious and anti-religious views presented in the sonnets.There are two categories of intertextual references in the sonnets: the first one are references to authors who struggled with religion as much as Thomas did; the second one comprises a lot of references to texts which contain intertextual references themselves. While the latter is probably done to ‘fit’ into a literary tradition, the former clearly indicates Thomas’s ambivalent attitude towards religion.The sonnet cycle can be interpreted as a disquisition on religion. Thomas creates room for discussing his personal doubts concerning the justification of God’s existence and the position of institutionalised religion. When growing up, we are undeniably influenced by the people who raise and educate us, and thus by their opinions and attitudes. In adolesence or young adulthood, we reflect on these attitudes and opinions we simply accepted when we were younger, and we then either adopt them as well or rebel against them. But even if we chose not to adopt the same spiritual path as the people who raised us, this path was still a part of our upbringing. This is clearly seen in Thomas’s poetry. When he makes fun of characters or stories from the Bible, he still shows how well he knows the Biblical tradition. He may have rebelled against it, but he knew very well what he was rebelling against.Overall, we can say that the “Altarwise by owl-light” cycle is the work of a torn poet. The mood of the sonnets is dark and gloomy. At times, the images and metaphors are so cryptic or even absurd that they are almost impossible to decipher. Sometimes the tone is accusatory, sometimes it is mocking, verging on mean. This is not the work of an artist who has figured it all out; this is the work of a man who is longing for a soothing decision in a conflict. The fact that Thomas refers not only to the Bible but also to several other authors who were in a similar struggle with religion as he was shows his ambivalent attitude towards this conflict which was probably never solved until his death.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)11
%9 Dissertation / PhD Thesis
%U https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/463041