And death shall have no dominion
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"And death shall have no dominion" is a poem written by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953).
[edit] Publication history
On 1936-09-10, two years after the release of his first volume of poetry, Twenty-five Poems was published. Twenty-five Poems revealed Thomas’ personal philosophies pertaining to religion and the forces of nature. Included in this introspective volume of work is And death shall have no dominion. The poem has also been recorded as being published in the New English Weekly in March 1933. It has gained vast recognition, being incorporated in current schooling and feature films (Solaris, The Weight of Water) and television (Beauty and the Beast). A portion also appears as an introduction to Brave Saint Saturn album Anti-Meridian. Another still is Omega Doom starring Rutger Hauer.
[edit] Poem text
- And death shall have no dominion.
- Dead mean naked they shall be one
- With the man in the wind and the west moon;
- When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
- They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
- Though they go mad they shall be sane,
- Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
- Though lovers be lost love shall not;
- And death shall have no dominion.
- And death shall have no dominion.
- Under the windings of the sea
- They lying long shall not die windily;
- Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
- Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
- Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
- And the unicorn evils run them through;
- Split all ends up they shan't crack;
- And death shall have no dominion.
- And death shall have no dominion.
- No more may gulls cry at their ears
- Or waves break loud on the seashores;
- Where blew a flower may a flower no more
- Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
- Though they be mad and dead as nails,
- Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
- Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
- And death shall have no dominion.
[edit] Pop Culture
This poem is featured significantly in the television series Beauty and the Beast (series 2), originally aired in 1988, and the film Solaris, released in 2002. It was also used at the start and ending of the movie "Omega Doom". The title of the novel 'They Shall Have Stars' by James Blish is taken from the poem.
