Every Morning I Wake
- Dylan Thomas
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 nineteenth-century England,
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.
• Poem:
Every morning when I wake,
Dear Lord, a little prayer I
make,
O please do keep Thy loving eye
On all poor creatures born to die
And every evening at sun-down
I ask a blessing on the town,
For whether we last the night or
no
I’m sure is always touch-and-go.
We are not wholly bad or good
Who live our lives under Milk
Wood,
And Thou, I know, wilt be the
first
To see our best side, not our
worst.
O let us see another day!
Bless us all this night, I pray,
And to the sun we all will bow
And say, good-bye – but just for now!
• Glossary:
Milk Wood (adj.): a wooded area
in the hills above a Welsh seaside village of Llaggerub in Dylan Thomas’ play
Under Milk Wood
• Summary:
The poem "Every Morning I
Wake" is an extract from Under the Milk Wood. In this poem, Thomas pleads
with the majestic God to have mercy on the common people who live under the
Milk Wood.
This poem is a prayer to the
magnificent God made by a tiny creature known as a human being. The speaker of
the poem is a representative of human kinds who are born to die but nothing.
The speaker is a devotee of God and he knows the real power of God, so every
morning he wakes up he makes a pray to Him for having mercy on every creature.
The speaker prays not only for his benefit but for the well-being of entire
creatures. They are living on this planet but the remote control is at the hand
of God. God is the creator and destroyer of everything on this planet. The
speaker prays to Him to have mercy because He is immortal and Almighty.
As mortal beings, we have to die but the blessings of God make our life beautiful. The speaker is praying to God before he sleeps at night but is not certain if they will see him tomorrow morning so he is asking to bless them. We may be good or bad in the course of living our everyday lives, but it is only God who knows our best side. The blessings of God every night make us able to see them tomorrow morning. So, the speaker bows down and pray to God to keep them alive throughout the night. This time the speaker bides goodbye but not forever though it is not certain to be able to wake up the following morning.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. When does the speaker pray to the Lord?
Answer: The speaker prays to God every morning he
wakes up and at night before he sleeps.
b. What does the speaker pray for?
Answer: The speaker prays for the grace and the
blessings to the people Living at Milk Wood.
c. Who are the ‘poor creatures’? Why does the speaker call them ‘poor creatures’?
Answer: The “poor creatures” in particular are the
individuals that live beneath Milk Wood, as well as humanity as a whole. The
speaker refers to them as poor creatures because they are comprised of bone and
flesh and are born to die.
d. What does Milk Wood sound like? A type of wood or a place? Why?
Answer: As there is no article before this term, Milk
Wood sounds like a location. Because it is not a type of wood, a grammatical
article such as ‘a,’ ‘an,’ or ‘the’ must have been used. Articles are
unnecessary before a solitary proper noun referring to a specific location.
e. Why do the inhabitants of Milk Wood bow to the setting sun ‘but just for now’?
Answer: The inhabitants of Milk Wood bow to the
setting sun ‘but just for now’ only to say good-bye for the evening. They are
hoping to see the sunshine the next morning. They wish to live another day with
God’s grace and the warmth of the Sun.
Reference to the Context
a. Discuss “Every Morning When I Wake” as a prayer to the God.
Answer: Dylan Thomas’s “Every Morning When I Wake” is
a prayer poem. “Dear Lord, a little prayer I make, O please do keep Thy loving
eye On all poor creatures born to die,” the speaker prays to God. The speaker
is pleading with God to keep his loving eyes on all needy creatures and to
shower them with blessings. In a prayer poem, the speaker asks God for
blessings and guidance throughout his life, as well as in the lives of all humans
and animals.
b. Why does the speaker make a prayer to God, but not to a king, a billionaire or a scientist?
Answer: Because God is the supreme deity, the creator,
and the primary object of faith, the speaker prays to Him. He is all-powerful,
all-knowing, and all-present. Kings, billionaires, and scientists are all
composed of bone and flesh and born to die. They are never compared to God, no
matter how much authority they have, how wealthy they are, or how much
knowledge they have. They, too, are under God’s control. He is a holy being who
created us, saves us, loves us, trusts us, and leads us on the proper path.
That is why we worship Him to receive His mercy and blessings. A monarch, a
rich, or a scientist are all transient beings. They cannot safeguard us in the
same way that God does. A king obtains his position as a result of God, a
scientist obtains knowledge as a result of Him, and a billionaire obtains a large
sum of money as a result of him.
c. How does the poet highlight the magnificence of God?
Answer: The poet highlights the magnificence of God
via the speaker’s daily prayers in the morning and at night. God knows the
entire essence of the creature, hence it is god’s blessings that see us through
another day.
d. How does the rhyme scheme of the poem reinforce its message?
Answer: A rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of
rhyming words that appears at the end of each line of a poem. This poem employs
linked rhyme, which means that every two lines of each stanza rhyme together.
Line 1 rhymes with line 2, while line 3 rhymes with line 4 in the AABB rhyming
scheme. The rhyme system for the entire poem is AABB, CCDD, EEFF and GGHH. These
rhymes sound like catchy music. It portrays the innocence of nature due to its
simplicity. In the eyes of God, the speaker is a helpless being. The majority of
prayer poems use this rhyme structure to express an innocent appeal to God.
