Dylan Thomas shared with us his childhood days in Fern Hill.
How does he describe his childhood
and
why does he end the poem with the following lines?
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
hye :)
ReplyDeleteNur Aimidayana Mohamad-158842
The persona describes his childhood as a pleasant and beautiful journey. He is visiting his Aunt Annie’s farm- “Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs” “About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,” He implying that he is a young boy who spends his days in happiness, playing on the field without anything to worried. "I was prince of the apple towns,"
“Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means”,
“Time held me green and dying”
“Though I sang in my chains like the sea”
But at the end of the stanza, the persona’s realizes that he’s already lost his youth and right now he is waiting for his death.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMadam Ju
Moganavarshini(157391)
In the poem the Fern Hill,the poet describes his childhood as being as "happy as the grass is green" or in other words, alive and healthy. He then directly refers himself to being "green and carefree". As a young boy he was vibrant and full of life. Being full of life, like "green grass"means that there is a natural course that life has to follow, birth to death. Anything living has a purpose in life and the speaker reflects his young days as a "Huntsman and Herdsman"It then takes a dramatic turn when he describes "fire as green as grass". Fire is paired with grass means that something destructive has occurred in the speaker's young life that has changed or altered the course of his natural growth. He is an adult when he looks back and says "before the children green". He had gained an understanding that his life is running out and says time held me "green and dying" (313). He is seeing his "green" life turning brown and wilting. He is staring in the face of mortality.
"And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea"
This line refers to the persona disappointment and sadness when he begin to realize that throughout his life "Time held him green and dying". He has now realized that his green life would run out of time and die, as sure enough as green grass dies, the days pass and he have passed his happy childhood and begin to achieve his dying time.
in this poem, Dylan Thomas tells about his childhood that is happy and fresh as the line that said himself being green and carefree.its also represents the passage of one mans life from boyhood to adulthood and the realization of his mortality.The poem takes a dramatic turn when he describes "fire as green as grass". Fire or burning paired with grass means that something destructive has occurred in the speaker's young life that has changed or altered the course of his natural growth. He is an adult when he looks back and says "before the children green". He had gained an understanding that his life is running out and says time held me "green and dying". He is seeing his "green"life turning brown and wilting. He is staring in the face of mortality.
ReplyDelete"And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea"
the poet says that now he already not a child and will never have the chance to set foot on to his carefree life once again.he's already old and the time for him to die already near.
Boheshwari (158654)
ReplyDeleteHi Madam Ju =)
Dylan Thomas’s Fern hill is about an old man who looks at his childhood thinking of it as some sort of paradise. There are a lot of colour imageries that were used by the persona to describe his childhood days. For example the persona was said to be “happy as the grass is green” meaning that his young times were lively and he was a happy boy. However somewhere in the middle he says that “fire as green as grass” which means that something bad has happened which took over his happiness away. The colour imagery white was also mentioned “ wanderer white” meaning that the persona lost track of time and when he realize it was too late and he was old already. In the persona imagination he is saying that his childhood is one of the best moments in life.
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
The persona ended the poem with this line because he came to the realization that he is no longer young. He knows that he is getting old and he can see that the “green” young and happy life he once had is wilting and dying over time. He cannot get hold of time aging him down and taking away his youth times as God decides that. No matter what he does, he knows that he has no control over his life and right now he is just waiting to embrace death.
Goh Swee Lan 157842
ReplyDeleteIn Fern Hill, Dylan Thomas portrays his childhood as a very precious moment. As green as grass, he was very happy that he has the freedom to play and appreciate the beauty of nature.
He feels like he was in the paradise. everything that he did when he was a child, are the sweetest memory he ever had. How much he actually wishes to go back to that moments of life time.
He want to experience again all the sweetness to be a child. Where the nature is always beautiful, the air is fresh, the freedom to play outdoor and everything that he did before. He misses those days very much.
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
He ends the poem with a disappointment, lonely tone. He now come back to the reality. He is an old man, too old to go back to his childhood. He can only afford to wait and wait, until his last breath.
Viloshini (158240)
ReplyDeletehello,
"Fern Hill" is a poem about the realization of life and mortality that appears after an unexpected experience occurs. The speaker moved to a greater wisdom about himself and the world around him. He realizes that the immortality he felt as a child was merely of life towards death. The poem is written by an adult, it is captured through the eyes of a child. The speaker and his take on his memory of how he was back in those days of his youth. In addition to being “young and easy,” the speaker seemed to have a control over his environment: he was “honored among wagons, “he was “prince of the apple towns,” and he “lordly had the trees and leaves / Trail with daisies and barley.” He easily moved through this beautiful country setting as if he owned everything.
"And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea"
The poet comprehends this only as a mature adult. He claims that time held him 'green and dying'. These are the two sides of Time (life): though it made him green, endowing him with the gift of youth; it also gave him death, a full stop to that phase. Change is inevitable, and as he is caught in this cycle of time, in its chains; he is forced to sing, for the gift of life is infinite in the depth it has to offer, just like the sea. It takes, yet it gives.As a child, he did not have to worry about time. Now, as an adult, he has resentment for time since it took him away from his carefree "childless land".
Nur Atiqah Nordin (156627)
ReplyDeleteThis poem is about a man who somehow remembering the good times he had when he was a kid. Having so much fun at the place. Now he is totally a different person compared to what he was before.
It is about the journey of life. We keep on moving and we are not static at one stages of life only. The persona describes the place through his childhood memories he had there.
By the paragraph;
"And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea"
he tries to potray the feeling of aprreciating the place as what it was. Now everything he had experienced there is no longer existed. He feels that everything changes but for him, the memory will stay forever in his mind like 'the sea'.
Faiq Hamzan Bin Mohd Azri 156887
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, the poet shares his experiences as a child, happily spending his summer in farm, playing under apple trees. He describes his childhood as a happy memories because he kind of missed that kind of moments when he already grown old.
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
The last stanza tells that the poet really cherished his childhood moments although he cannot experienced it again and he was just waiting death embrace him.
Siew Woon Teng 159262
ReplyDeleteThe persona is talking about his childhood and he describes it as something beautiful, something that is filled with the nature outdoors. He describes his youthful days as young and easy and how it is a relaxed picture: "now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs".
The speaker has control of his life as he was 'prince of the apple town". He moved in the country setting as though he owned everything. He was a young farm boy, who was also a "huntsman and herdsman". This gives us a free picture and of him enjoying his surroundings and nature as a child.
He then explains the beauty of nature in his childhood days, once again, of the hay, "fields high as the house", of how the chimneys were filled with music. Even the nights are explained in detail.
At that time his surroundings are charming, and he definitely had a good time playing all day. He has a carefree attitude when he was young an he describes in the line "I ran my heedless ways".
The reason why he ends with
"And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea."
is because, he is explaining how his current situation is, that is in contrast to his life as a child. He is currently facing death. He did not realize that his time is running out as he is enjoying being carefree. But he realizes this as an adult and he still remembers the beauty of his memories and because of youth, he can say that because of all these, he still has the beauty of his memories and "I sang in my chains like the sea".
Nancy Nesha ,157467
ReplyDeleteDylan Thomas shared his childhood memories on the first stanza .Each line describe his living when he was a young kid / boy. The whole stanza describes his living hood when he was a child. The emotions and atmosphere that he went through was clearly stated in this stanza. For instance, “Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs” which indicated the person he mentioning is somebody not old and followed by the second line “About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green” where it gives the readers an image of how happy the young boy the writer mentioning which could be him . It shows the young boy was happy which compared to the grass ( as the grass was green) meant by in irony of the color green . here , the colour green can indicates nature , freshness which lead to the fresh , new and young childhood memories. The writer mentioning about the days and activities he went through” The night above the dingle starry”, “Time let me hail and climb” he was strong enough , “ Golden in the heydays of his eyes”his eyes are seeking , searching and enthusiastic about the life he was having that time . he followed how he felt inside when he was with the nature , with the apple orchards , he felt like a prince , like he owns the place. Overall we can see he loved the journey he had when he was in his childhood days where he adventure the nature around and seek for new and fresh environment.
i miss my childhood days , just a sharing ,
nothing could be compared what he had those days...
we are innocent, young and energetic. we didn't differentiate our friends by colour or race or gender.
everybody was like in a same boat. hahax.. we share food and we fight like we never been hurt before.
now everything is in the opposite track..
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
A feel of regret and disappointment can sense from this line form my point of view. He is comparing the life he had when he was a child and the life he is having now. He was young as green but now he is on the process of dying and we can sense the tone of sadness and disappointment on his last lines. The life he used to
Be when he was a young boy was far better than what he is having now.
Neerosha A/P Vinodhan
ReplyDelete158348
This poem was essentially captured through the eyes of a child. It talks about the wonders of life as a child and the beauty of it. The persona gives a detailed description of the beauty of the farm he grew up in. His childhood was euphoric and ultimately full of happiness and carefree under the apple boughs. His overjoy of emotions makes him feel like the house he lives in is lifted up and singing. A description of fresh and pure nature is also given by the persona when green grass was mentioned. In the poem the persona also talks about his experience growing up in the farm and experiences gained there. He felt like a prince or a rightful owner of the place indicating a sense of belonging and comfort in that atmosphere he is so mesmerized with.
The final stanza which is
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
in my opinion, the persona is expressing sadness and regret in this stanza trying to portray to readers that the current situation of life is not as beautiful and cheerful as it was before perhaps due to modernization. Life is not as carefree and beautiful as it was back in the day.
The poet is showing us his childhood, when everything was fresh and new, everything green (the color of youth and growth) and golden (the color of light and preciousness) and bright.He describes it as a freedom time that full with enjoyment and excitement. As now,he is getting older and he is still memorize his childhood memories although it had past.He keep remembering all the fascinating memory through his childhood day.
ReplyDeleteAnd wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
At the last stanza,it had show us the poet's feeling after he had left his child days.He is dissoluteness,sad and felt lonely as he is no longer young. He is facing with the death now and he is realize that he had left all of the carefree time.He is just waiting to embrace the time of death and he doesn't have the power to control his life as he is getting older day by day.
In the poem Fern Hill, Dylan Thomas portrays his happiness in the line "as green as the grass" where he was enjoying his precious moment during his tender age.
ReplyDeleteEvery single moment of his childhood was a joy to him. He never felt that peace, joy, calmness and tranquility he had. Everything he did was just extreme happiness, as if no worries and pain could go near him at that time.
If it is possible he really wish badly he could get back to his past where everything was in paradise. Even the air was so clean at that time compared to now. During childhood there were no such thing as Racial Discrimination! All races lived happily under one nation compared to now. He is flabbergasted whenever he comes to think about what is happening to the community these days.
No one can escape from old age, so is the poet. He know he can never go back to the past. His days on Earth are numbered. He is aging, and it's before long that the Messenger of Death would arrive at thee.
Krishnananthini- 158283
ReplyDeleteHi madam Ju :)
Fern Hill is a poem written by an adult, captured through the eyes of a child. Dylan has descriptively penned his childhood memory in Fern Hill. He take us on his memory of how he was back in those days of his youth. In addition to being “young and easy,” the speaker seemed to have a control over his environment: he was “honoured among wagons, “he was “prince of the apple towns,” and he “lordly had the trees and leaves / Trail with daisies and barley.” He easily moved through this beautiful country setting as if he owned everything.
Then he introduces the concept of time, which he personifies, claiming that it was time that allowed him to enjoy his regal activities as a young farm boy who was also “huntsman and herdsman”: “Time let me play and be / Golden in the mercy of his means.” In this paragraph, the persona pays homage to divinity by observing that “the Sabbath rang slowly / In the pebbles of the holy streams.”
In the 3rd stanza, he offers more description of his idyllic farm: “the hay / Fields high as the house,”” “and the horses / Flashing into the dark.” The speaker refers to falling asleep as riding to sleep: “As I rode to sleep the owls were bearing the farm away.” While falling asleep, he could hear the owls whose plaintiff cries seemed to lull him away from the farm.
In the fourth and fifth stanzas he continues tracing the memories of how charming the his surroundings were and what a good time he had every day. As he awakened each morning, it was as if the farm was bringing back to him a Garden of Eden, where everything seemed new again: “it was all / Shining, it was Adam and maiden.” He even claims that it must have been this way when God first created creation, and “the spellbound horses walking warm / Out of the whinnying green stable / On to the fields of praise.” And he was “happy as the heart was long, / In the sun born over and over, / I ran my heedless ways.” Again he emphasizes his carefree attitude.
“And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.”
According to this final stanza, the persona demonstrates what he has since learned about being “green,” “easy,” “heedless”; he has discovered that all that freedom was somewhat delusive. He did not realize that at the time or else he just did not pay attention that while time was allowing him this idyllic space to romp and be carefree, that same commodity of time was running out. The unconscious awe now no longer exist. As the speaker has realized this as an adult, he still retains the beautiful memory that even though “Time held me green and dying”. Change is inevitable, and as he is caught in this cycle of time, in its chains; he is forced to sing, for the gift of life is infinite in the depth it has to offer, just like the sea. It takes, yet it gives.
tq.
In Dylan Thomas “Fern Hill”, the persona is actually looking back at his childhood. The persona give the ideal description of an idyllic farm where he spent his life happily and carefree under the apple bough.
ReplyDeleteHe was “honoured among wagons, “he was “prince of the apple towns,” and he “lordly had the trees and leaves. Trail with daisies and barley.” From here we could see that the persona had the control over his environment. He was enjoying his childhood days as any other children will live their lives. The persona visualizes his childhood with imageries and describes his happiness as a child. He explains his young days as being as "happy as the grass is green" or in other words, alive and healthy. He then directly refers himself to being "green and carefree".
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
In the last stanza, the persona realized that his youth is slipping away from him. He was in the mercy of time. He understand that immortality he felt as a child will not remain forever and as time goes on, he succumb to the idea of death because death is inevitable and he will have to accept the change.
Rosanne Voon (156778)
ReplyDeleteDylan Thomas shows us that as a young boy, he spends his days in happiness, frolicking throu meadows and playing make believe. "I was prince of the apple towns," he imagined. He also shows us the boy's youth and freedom in lines such as "I was young and easy under the apple boughs," and "Timw let me hail and climb." "I Ed green and carefree," and "time let me play and be." These lines show his youthful and carefree days, where time moved slowly ("the sabbath rang slowly"). The tone is light and uplifting. But in the last few lines, he turns to talking about the wasted years of his childhood and youth gone and of death. He thinks back in the carefree days of childhood. In "Time held me green and dying though I sang in my chains like the sea," he speaks of impending death and of being bedridden, just waiting to die.
Abyan 'Aisyah Azami (158366)
ReplyDeleteHello Madam Ju! Happy Saturday! :)
In the poem 'Fern Hill', the poet reminisces about his childhood. In stanza 1, the poet uses words like, 'young and easy', 'happy as the grass was green', 'starry', 'daisies and barley' and much more. These words are used to describe how beautiful his childhood was. 'Young and easy' means how when he was younger, his life was simple and easy. 'Happy as the grass was green' implies that he was a happy kid, enjoying the freshness of life.
Basically, throughout the poem, the poet reminisces about the times when he was younger. He misses the time that he totally enjoyed life and so carefree. I guess in a way, he wishes to go back to his past.
Sometimes human does that, you know. We often look back in the past, reminiscing about the good times when we don't have to care about the future. We look back at our mistakes in the past and how we wish that we could go back and fix them.
But can we go back to our past? No.
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
The poet is now 'awake', and he realizes that the present is nothing like the past. He is old now, no longer a little boy. He's waiting for time to pass and face death. However, the line 'Though I sang in my chains like the sea' means that eventhough he can't go back to being carefree, he will always has his beautiful memory of his childhood.
Rouhollah Mahmoudnia, 159830
ReplyDeleteIt is a poem with quite number of different images in it which show the strong passion of the writer and the performed ability to attract the senses of the reader. The transformation from the stage of being a boy to a man, and the lack of having a good feedback of being beautiful of the life experienced as a child is illustrated in the poem. The man wishes he had been more grateful for being young when he was a child, now realizing that death is always slowly approaching.
Hi madam,sorry for the late respond.
ReplyDeleteThis poem about the realization of life and mortality that appears after an unexpected experience occurs. The speaker is moved to a greater wisdom about himself and the world around him. He realizes that the immortality he felt as a child was merely a step towards the unyielding movement of life towards death. Through the use of colour, time, and religious language readers develop an understanding for the speaker's emotions, beliefs, and passage through life
Time as an authority figure who has strict control of his life, and with descriptions of biblical figures we can presume that he is a religious person who believes that God is in control of his destiny. Each of these images contributes to a picture of one man's outlook on life and death.
Hi Madam Ju...your awesome as always =)
ReplyDeleteBased on the poem Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas , he depicts his childhood as a pleasant moment of his life. This can be shown through the line ‘As green as grass’. He was very happy and carefree about his life because he had the freedom to do what he wants.
The persona even feels that he was in the land of paradise and enjoying everything he had. He wants to re-experience all that again. But he do realises that time is not on his side.
And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.
He knows that in reality , he cant really re-experience all that again. By this he introduces a sad tone to end the poem. It’s a short journey from childhood to adulthood.