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About the Author
Born in Swansea, Wales, Dylan Thomas (1914- 1953) is famous for his acutely lyrical and emotional poetry. Thomas can be seen as an extension into the 20th century of the general movement called Romanticism, that flourished in the nineteenth century Englnad, particularly in its emphasis on imagination, emotion, intuition, spontaneity, and organic form. Considered to be one of the greatest Welsh poets of all time, Thomas is largely known for his imaginative use of language and vivid imagery in his poems. He started working for BBC in 1945. Under Milk Wood (1953), a radio play, was written over a long period of time during the last months of his life. It is set in a small Welsh town called Llareggub and covers one day in the lives of its provincial characters. “Every Morning I Wake” is an extract from Under the Milk Wood. In this poem, Thomas prays to the magnificent God to have mercy on ordinary inhabitants living under the Milk Wood.
summary
“Every Morning I Wake” is a poem written by Dylan Thomas. It is an extract from Under the Milk Wood. In this poem, Thomas prays to the magnificent (great) God to have mercy (grace) on ordinary inhabitants living under the Milk Wood. In the poem, the speaker prays to the magnificent God to have mercy on ordinary inhabitants living under the Milk Wood. The speaker says that he prays to God every morning when he wakes. He requests to God to keep loving eyes on all poor creatures born to die.
In this regard, he not only prays to god for the protection of own but also for all innocent creatures in the world. He also asks God to bless town people every evening at sun-down because he is unsure if the city inhabitants last the night or not. So, he always prays to God to protect them from any possible harms. The speaker expresses the uncertainty of life and death.
Further he says that the people of Milk Wood are not totally bad or totally good. And the God will see only the best side and neglect the worst side of people. The speaker prays that the night ill be down soon and the delighting sun will re-appear. Here, night refers to the pains, stress and undelightful days of the inhabitants of
Milk wood. And he hopes God will bless them all the night. Finally, the speaker says good-bye to the setting sun but not permanently. People want to see another day with rising sun so they need the bless of God.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. When does the speaker pray to the Lord?
Ans: The speaker prays to the Lord every morning when he wakes up and at night before he sleeps.
b. What does the speaker pray for?
Ans: The speaker prays for the grace and blessings of the people who are living in Milk Wood.
c. Who are the ‘poor creatures’? Why does the speaker call them ‘poor creatures’?
Ans: The ‘poor creatures’ particularly in the poem refer to all the creatures who are living in Milk Wood. They also refer to all the living creatures of the earth. The speakers calls them ‘poor creatures’ because they are born to die and it is not sure whether they will see another morning or not.
d. What does Milk Wood sound like? A type of wood or a place? Why?
Ans: Milk Wood sounds like a lovely place along with wood because there is no use of article (a,an,the) before it. If it was the name of wood, there must be use of any one of the article (a,an,the) before it.
e. Why do the inhabitants of Milk Wood bow to the setting sun but just for now’?
Ans: The inhabitants of Milk Wood bow to the setting sun for the mercy and deep faith in God but they bow to the setting sun just for now or temporarily thinking that they are ending the prayer only of that day and wishing to see glorious morning after their safe night.
Reference to the context
a. Discuss “Every Morning When I Wake” as a prayer to the God.
Ans: “Every Morning When I Wake” is a prayer to the God because the poem is full of prayers. In the poem, the speakers seems to make prayer to the magnificent God from beginning to the end. He prays to God to have mercy of the inhabitants who are living in Milk Wood. He prays to the Lord every morning when he wakes up and at night before he sleeps. The speaker prays to the Lord to keep his loving eye on all mortal poor creatures. He also prays to the Lord to let him/ them see the next morning as no one knows either they will last that night or not. The speaker seems quite devoted to magnificent God and quite aware about God’s grandeur. There are altogether four stanzas in the poem and all stanzas are related to prayers of God. So, we can say that “Every Morning When I Wake” is the poem as a prayer to the God.
b. Why does the speaker make a prayer to the God, but not to a king, a billionaire or a scientist?
Ans: The speaker makes a prayer to the God, but not to a king, a billionaire or a scientist because only the God is the creator of all beings. The God is immortal and the remote of all creatures’ life is in the hand of the God. A king, a billionaire and a scientist are nothing in front of the God because they are just humans created by the God. They are born to die but the Lord is immortal. A king, a billionaire and a scientist are the creatures of earth and the speaker believes more in God than creatures. So, the speaker makes a prayer to the God, but not to a king, a billionaire or a scientist.
c. How does the poet highlight the magnificence of the God?
Ans: “Every Morning I Wake’ is a prayer poem written by Dylan Thomas. In this poem, the speaker has highlighted the grandeur of the God. He says that the God is the creator of all creatures. We can see the next morning because of the blessings of the God. We humans are created by the God, guided by the God and blessed by the God. The God keeps his loving eyes on we poor creatures. He sees only the best side of ours and forgives our mistakes. The poet has presented the God as the source of love and compassion (sympathy) for all living creatures. All living creatures depend on God and survive due to God’s grace. In this way, the poet describes the magnificence of the God by highlighting his powers.
d. How does the rhyme scheme of the poem reinforce its message?
A rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhyming words at the end of each line of a poem. The rhyming structure of this poem is AABB. The rhyme scheme of the poem reinforces its message beautifully. It makes the poem lovely to read. AABB rhyme scheme has made the poem much more attractive. It is a prayer poem in which the speaker prays to the God to have mercy on all creatures. For this poem, the rhyme scheme that has been used is the best.
Reference beyond the text
i. Does the God exist? Give your opinion.
Ans: “Does God exist?” is a controversial topic that has been discussed since the beginning of human civilization. Either the God exists or not it depends upon our beliefs. Some people believe in the existence of the God and some do not. In my opinion, the God exists. The God lives in our heart and mind. The existence of God is like the existence of radiation. We don’t see God but we find the effects of God in our lives. Sometimes when I face very difficult problem, I remember to God and get solution and unexpected good result. Although I can’t prove the physical presence of God, I feel that the God exists in our subconscious mind. I also go to temple to worship and pray to God because I believe that the God exists. I am Hindu. There are many religious festivals in Hindu religion and I worship to different God and Goddess in these religious festivals.
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