A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Chil
This poem is a lament for a child killed in an air raid during World War II. It rejects the idea of mourning the child's death with traditional funeral rites, instead advocating for a more direct and unflinching confrontation with the reality of war. The speaker argues that the child's death by fire is not worthy of the usual formalities of mourning, as it is a common occurrence in wartime. The poem suggests that the only proper response to such a death is outrage and anger at the senseless destruction caused by war. The tone is one of fierce indignation and moral outrage, with the speaker demanding that society acknowledge the true horror of war and its effects on civilians, particularly children.
By Dylan Thomas · First published 1936 · Genre: Poetry, Elegy, Modernist · 211 words
First lines
Never until the mankind making Bird beast and flower Fathering and all humbling darkness Tells with silence the last light breaking
And the still hour Is come of the sea tumbling in harness And I must enter again the round Zion of the water bead And the synagogue of the ear of corn
Shall I let pray the shadow of a sound Or sow my salt seed In the least valley of sackcloth to mourn The majesty and burning of the child's death.
I shall not murder
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A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London is listed on Textopian as a poem by Dylan Thomas, dated 1936 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Dylan Thomas
- Date: 1936 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Elegy, Modernist, Philosophical, Symbolism
- Length: 211 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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Similar titles
- Epitaph On A Child by Thomas Gray
- Dirge Without Music by Edna St Vincent Millay
- To A Poet That Died Young by Edna St Vincent Millay
- On The Death Of J C An Infant by Phillis Wheatley
- Poem To A Dead Soldier by Langston Hughes
- Deaths Protest by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Genres
- Poetry — The work is structured as a poem, utilizing verse, meter, and imagery to convey its themes.
- Elegy — The poem reflects on death and mourning, typical of an elegy, though it refuses traditional expressions of grief.
- Modernist — The poem employs modernist techniques such as complex imagery, ambiguity, and a break from traditional forms.
- Philosophical — The poem explores existential themes, questioning the nature of death and mourning.
Tags
Poem · Elegy · War Poetry · Loss · Grief · Childhood · Death · Fire · London · Tragedy · Sorrow · Mourning