Every Morning I Wake, by Dylan Thomas

       

Every Morning I Wake

1. Introduction: 

Every Morning I Wake is an excerpt (a short extract form a film, music or writing) from Under the Milk Wood (1953). It was a radio play, which was set in a small Wales town called Llareggub. Milk Wood is a little hamlet (a small settlement usually smaller than a village).

The present poem is in a form of prayer. The speaker prays to the magnificent almighty God to have mercy on the ordinary inhabitants living under the Milk Wood.

[Under Milk Wood]

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2. Summary: 

This poem is a prayer. In it we find the speaker praying every morning and evening for love, life, blessings and well being of the people of Milk Wood. 

In his prayer s/he asks the Lord to keep His loving eye (love/mercy) to all human beings. They are all poor creatures, because they are born to die. Their ultimate destiny is death.

S/He asks for His blessings on the town (Milk Wood). Life is not infinite (limitless/endless). It is short and uncertain. They might or might not even see the next morning. But s/he is sure that the God will have His kindness, care and concern for them. 

They (the Milk Wood people) are a bundle of vices and virtues. They are neither fully good nor bad. Whatever it might be, the speaker is sure that the lord would see their best side only.

Keeping this in mind, s/he implores (requests earnestly) the Lord to bless them to see yet another sun rise (another day).

Although on the surface level it seems to be a prayer for the people of Milk Wood only, in fact it is for the entire world.

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3.Understanding the Stanzas:

Stanza 1:

Every morning when I wake,

Dear Lord, a little prayer I make,

O please do keep Thy loving eye                                (thy = your)

On all poor creatures born to die

[Every morning when I wake]

Explanation: The speaker makes his prayer every morning and evening.  

This first stanza of the poem is his morning prayer. Here we find the speaker requesting the Lord to keep his love on the people of Milk Wood. But at the same time it is for all the creatures of the world. The use of the phrase 'all poor creatures' clearly indicates that the speaker is neither praying for his personal benefit, nor for human beings only, he is praying for all the creatures of the world. Every creature is born to die.

Stanza 2 :

And every evening at sun-down                     (sun-down= sunset)

I ask a blessing on the on the town,

For whether we last the night or no

I'm sure is always touch-and-go.

[And every evening at sun-down I ask a blessing]

Explanation: This is his evening prayer. Here s/he is talking about the uncertainty of life and death.

Again, s/he is praying for his/her townspeople. The speaker is fully aware of the mortality of human beings (and all the creatures). It is not only mortality, it is uncertainty too. 

The speaker expresses the uncertainty of life and death. Nobody knows if today is going to be last of his/her life, or if they will see the next morning.

But s/he is sure God will shower his blessings upon them. 

Stanza 3 : 

We are not wholly bad or good

Who lives our lives under under Milk Wood,

And Thou, I know, wilt be the first             (thou wilt = you will)

To see our best side, not our worst.

Explanation: No body  is entirely good or bad. In the similar way, the inhabitants of Milk Wood are also a bundle of vices and virtues. 

But here the speaker is optimistic that the Lord is so nice and kind that He sees only the good sides of them (inhabitants of Milk Wood), and not at the weak sides. 

Stanza 4 : 

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 !

Explanation : In this last stanza the speaker is imploring (pleading/requesting) the God to provide them one more day as His blessings. With this blessing they will bow to sun to bid him a good bye, with the hope to greet him again the next morning.

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4. Questions and Answers/ Exercises

Understanding the text

Answer the following questions.

a.  When does the speaker pray to the Lord ?

Answer: S/he prays to the Lord every morning and evening.

b. What does the speaker pray for ?

Answer: The speaker prays for the love, compassion, and blessings  of the Lord for the people of Milk Wood. S/He wishes for the well being, sympathy protection and long life for them.

c. Who are the 'poor creatures' ? Why does the speaker call them 'poor creatures' ?

Answer: Here 'poor creatures' means the inhabitants of Milk Wood. The speaker calls them such because they are all mortals (subject to death), they are all born to die.

In its deeper meaning we can say that the speaker is not only talking about the inhabitants of Milk Wood , he is referring to the whole of the humanity. We all are mortals, born to die.

d. What does Milk Wood sound like ? A type of wood or a place? Why?

Answer : The phrase Milk Wood sounds as if it is a little forest. One of the meanings of 'wood' is an area of land, smaller than a forest that is covered with growing trees.

e. Why do the inhabitants of Milk Wood bow to the setting sun 'but just for now'? 

Answer : The poem ends with a positive tone. The speaker is convinced that the night will not be the last  in their lives. This bowing to to the sun isn't going to be the last one.

He is confident that there is still a next morning, and they will greet the rising sun once again.

Reference to the context

a. Discuss "Every Morning When I Wake" as a prayer to the God.

Answer :  "Every Morning When I Wake" is a very short and simple example of a pray poem. In the very beginning, the speaker addresses the Lord and praying him for His love, blessings, and protection.

Being a lyric, it is very song like and expresses the speaker's emotions well. This is a great feature of a prayer. The AA BB rhyme scheme provides a sense of innocence of the speaker. He highlights the magnificence of God, which is yet another feature of a prayer. The honesty, selflessness of the speaker makes it a beautiful prayer.

b. Why does the speaker make a prayer to the God, but not to a king, a billionaire or a scientist ?

Answer : The speaker is making a prayer to the God and not to a king, billionaire  or a scientist. The speaker knows well that the God is omnipotent (having unlimited power). 

A king, a billionaire, a scientist --- they are all human beings. They have only limited power, and can't be compared with the God. Rather they themselves depend upon the God for their wills/needs.

Furthermore, God has infinite compassion (sympathy and pity for the misfortunes of others) in Him which humans can't have. Due to such reasons s/he makes a prayer to the God.

c. How does the poet highlight the magnificence of the God ?

Answer : The poet has highlighted the magnificence of the God by showing by his deep faith in him. As the God is full of compassion, the speaker is sure that the God will have a loving eye on him (them). As He is omnipotent, he can provide them life and protection to them. 

Thus by acknowledging the God's power he has highlighted the magnificence of the God.

d. How does the rhyme-scheme of the poem reinforce its message ?

Answer : The rhyming scheme of this poem is AA BB in every stanza. This scheme has given the poem a musical quality as well as a simplicity. Essentially the couplets can be thought of as self contained statements. In this way the poem reinforces its message.

Reference beyond the text

a. Does the God exist ? Give your opinion.

Answer : Does the God exist ? Yes, coming from an orthodox (following the traditional rules of a religion) family, I firmly believe in the existence of the God.

The existence of the God has been debated since the time unknown. Atheists (people who do not believe in the existence of God) deny him. On the other hand, theists (people who believe in the existence of God) not only believe in the God, but also claim that they have a relationship with him.

A wide variety of arguments for and against His existence has been put forward.

Disbelievers ask for a proof. Well, no proof or evidence can be presented about His existence. It is something to be felt or realized. He presents Himself in many manifestations of life. The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It is like the presence of an electric current, which is invisible, but has its existence. It is also like the fragrance of flower prevalent in the air. We can feel, but we can't point at. 

Many times many such circumstances come come in our life, when an unseen hand helps us in our worst times. That is the existence of the God.

Lastly, I will like to end with a statement "A scientist has calculated that there is 67% chance that God exists."

b. In his epistle to the author of the book, The Three Imposters (1768), Voltaire says, "Even if the God didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent Him." Write an essay highlighting the importance of the God in the society.

Answer : Importance of the God in the society ? Well, there is not a single answer to the question. 

People are divided into two groups: those who believe in the God, and feel His importance, and the disbelievers, who never believe in God. I am a theist (person who believes in God), and think there is a great importance of the God in this society.

We can discuss them in terms of spiritual need, and personal, psychological need. 

Spiritually when we think of the God, and develop our spiritual beliefs, we find life is easier. When we bring the God in our life, we find answers to the purposes of life. It gives people a hope and a reason to be good, and to keep away from the evil.

On the personal, psychological level too, there is a great importance of the God. Sometimes when we feel alone in our lives, we feel depressed and unhappy. But when we take God as our friend, (even if may be an imaginary friend), we share our worries with him without any fear of deception. It gives a relief and makes our heart light. I feel I am privileged with His assistance in times of my darkest needs. 

Thinking about the God helps us to resolve many problems of life. Much of troubles in the present times are because we have been losing our faith and connection with the God. The interconnectedness (interrelation/link) with the God brings us a mental peace.

We specially need Him in today's society as we sinful people have made a mess of everything. We need His help now more than ever before. 

History has shown that whenever the society removes the God out, they always replace Him with a man-god. Such man-gods only give troubles and killings to people. Several such examples can be taken from the history.

I would rather have a God, than a man-god.

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5. A Short Analysis of the Poem

1. Name of the poem : Every Morning I Wake

2. The Poet : Dylan Thomas : Famous Wales poet and writer

(Dylan Thomas : Oct 27, 1914 -- Nov 09, 1953)

3. Genre : Lyrical poem / Prayer

     

It is a prayer of blessing. A prayer of blessing refers to either thanking God for things, or asking God for other requests. 

Here the speaker is praying God for making request for His help in a certain matter, perhaps asking God for protection.

4. Structure of the poem : 

• There are four stanzas in this poem. All of them are quatrains (consisting for lines)
• Every stanza begins with a capital letter
• The first stanza is about his morning prayer : "Every morning when I wake"
• The remaining stanzas are related with his evening prayer
• The speaker is selfless as s/he is not asking for anything for him/herself. S/he prays for all the inhabitants of Milk Wood

5.  Theme of the poem :

• This poem is in the form of a prayer requesting him for the wellbeing of all the human beings, who are just miserable in front of him.
•  The ultimate fate of all the creature is to die.
• God is omnipotent and he takes care of every body in the world 
• Human beings and all the creatures are dependent upon the God

6. Speaker of the poem : An inhabitant of Milk Wood

7. Addressee : (the one to whom the speaker speaks) : The God

8. Mood : Hopeful/Positive

9. Tone : Persuasive/Direct

10. Major poetic devices used in the poem:

• Apostrophe: "Apostrophe is a poetic device in which a character addresses to a subject that is not literally present in the literary work." Example = 'Dear Lord'
• Archaism: "Archaism is the use of writing/vocabulary that is considered outdated or old fashioned today."

       Examples : 'Thy' (modern English: Your) / 'Thou wilt' (modern           English: You will)

• Symbolism : # 1. The word 'night' has been used as a symbol here. It points at the pains, stresses and worries of life. The speaker is hopeful that God will help him/them through the darkness of night. #. 2 'The new sun' is the symbol  of the beginning of a new pleasant life.

        (All images credit: Google)

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