Poem Analysis - I Make This In A Warring Absence

Dylan Thomas's "I Make This In A Warring Absence" is a dense and intensely emotional poem that grapples with themes of love, loss, creation, and destruction. The poem is characterized by its vibrant and often violent imagery, creating a sense of inner turmoil and struggle. The tone shifts between despair, longing, and a tentative hope for reconciliation. The poem seems to be an exploration of the complex relationship between the speaker and a beloved, marked by absence, conflict, and a desire for resolution.

A Welsh Poet's Tormented Love

Dylan Thomas, a Welsh poet known for his passionate and often surreal style, lived a life marked by both artistic brilliance and personal turmoil. Understanding his context, as a Welsh poet, it could be a struggle for independence, his love for homeland, or his own tumultuous relationships, illuminates the poem's exploration of conflicting emotions and the struggle to find peace amidst chaos.

Absence, Love, and Destruction: The Poem's Central Conflicts

One of the primary themes in the poem is the paradoxical relationship between love and absence. The poem opens with the line, "I make this in a warring absence," establishing the central conflict. The absence of the beloved becomes a catalyst for creation, but it is also a source of pain and conflict. The phrase "warring absence" encapsulates this tension, suggesting that the absence is not merely a void but an active force that provokes the speaker's emotional and creative response. Love is portrayed as both a source of inspiration and a potential source of destruction, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of human relationships. The poem explores the destructive potential of both physical and emotional distance, revealing the profound impact of separation on the speaker's psyche.

Symbolism in a Landscape of the Mind

The poem is rich in symbolic imagery, creating a dreamlike and often unsettling landscape of the mind. The image of the "sea-hymen" being "rent ancestrally" is a particularly potent symbol, suggesting a violation of something sacred and fundamental. The "ropped sea-hymen" could represent the fundamental connection between the speaker and their beloved, the natural world, or perhaps even their own sense of wholeness. The violent image of it being "rent" indicates a deep rupture, a primal wound that permeates the speaker's experience. The use of natural imagery like the sea, wind, and rocks further reinforces the sense of a turbulent and unpredictable emotional landscape. The contrast between images of innocence ("nettle's innocence") and guilt ("silk pigeon's guilt") highlights the moral ambiguity and internal conflict within the speaker's psyche.

A Journey Towards Forgiveness

The poem navigates a dark landscape of absence, conflict, and destruction. The speaker wrestles with feelings of loss, betrayal, and a longing for reconciliation. However, the poem concludes with a glimmer of hope, hinting at the possibility of forgiveness and healing. The final lines, "Yet this I make in a forgiving presence," suggest that the act of creation itself can be a pathway towards resolution. Even in the face of profound loss and emotional turmoil, the speaker finds the capacity for forgiveness, suggesting a movement towards a more peaceful and integrated state of being. The ambiguity of "forgiving presence" leaves open the question of whether this forgiveness is granted by the beloved, by a higher power, or by the speaker himself.