Poem Analysis - To Day This Insect

An Ominous Beginning: A Descent into Destruction

Dylan Thomas's "To-day, This Insect" is a dense and unsettling poem that explores themes of destruction, creation, and the corruption of innocence. The poem opens with a sense of unease and disorientation, quickly descending into violent imagery and a profound sense of loss. The tone is complex, shifting between bewilderment, accusation, and a reluctant acceptance of a fallen world. The poem grapples with the biblical story of Eden, reinterpreting it through a lens of modern angst and a potent, almost grotesque, symbolism.

Eden Corrupted: A Garden Lost

One of the central themes of the poem is the corruption of Eden and the loss of innocence. The opening lines establish a setting in which something fundamental has been violated. The phrase "Murder of Eden and green genesis" immediately evokes the biblical Fall, but Thomas presents it as a violent act, a "slapped down guillotine," suggesting a sudden and irreversible severance from a state of grace. The image of "head and tail made witnesses" hints at a distorted, almost grotesque view of creation, where the sacred and the profane are intertwined. The insect, initially seemingly insignificant, becomes a symbol of this corruption, an agent of change carrying disease and destruction.

The Insect as Destroyer: A Symbol of Plague

The "insect" itself is a recurring symbol throughout the poem, representing various forces of destruction and corruption. It is described as "the plague of fables," suggesting that it embodies the dark side of storytelling and myth. The insect is associated with imagery of serpents ("serpent caul"), blindness ("blind in the coil"), and monstrous transformations ("crocodile before the chrysalis"). This accumulation of negative attributes paints the insect as a force that undermines creation and distorts beauty. It brings about the "fall from love," replacing the "flying heartbone" with something grotesque and disturbing. The insect’s "Uncredited" act that "blows Jericho on Eden" implies destruction visited on the innocent without acknowledgement or justification, adding to the poem’s overall sense of nihilism.

Love, Loss, and the Enduring Voice

Despite the pervasive sense of destruction, the poem also touches on the enduring power of love and the human voice. The final stanza introduces a voice that claims, "Adam I love, my madmen's love is endless." This declaration, while surrounded by images of madness and despair ("the nightmare madmen," "An air-drawn windmill on a wooden horse"), suggests that love persists even in the face of annihilation. This voice, seemingly divine or prophetic, speaks of "all legends' sweethearts on a tree of stories," implying that the narratives of love and loss are eternal. The "cross of tales behind the fabulous curtain" could symbolize the suffering and sacrifice inherent in love, suggesting that even in a fallen world, love remains a powerful and enduring force. The voice is "Greek in the Irish sea," an unusual image which could imply that the wisdom that can be heard amidst the destruction is both ancient and connected to the poet’s homeland.

A Symphony of Destruction and Resilience

In conclusion, "To-day, This Insect" is a powerful and unsettling exploration of creation, destruction, and the enduring nature of love. Through vivid imagery and potent symbolism, Dylan Thomas presents a world where Eden has been corrupted and innocence lost. The insect serves as a central symbol of this corruption, embodying the dark side of myth and the destructive forces that undermine creation. Yet, amidst the despair and destruction, a voice emerges to affirm the enduring power of love, suggesting that even in a fallen world, the human spirit, through love and story, retains its capacity for resilience. Does the "certain promise" of the insect fable refer to the inevitability of destruction, or the certainty that stories, even those tinged with despair, will endure? The poem leaves us with this question, lingering in the space between annihilation and hope.