And death shall have no dominion
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"And death shall have no dominion" is a poem written by Welsh poet
Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...
(1914–1953). The title comes from St. Paul's
epistle to the Romans The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of J ...
(6:9).


Publication history

In early 1933 Thomas befriended Bert Trick, a grocer who worked in the Uplands area of
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
. Trick was an amateur poet who had several poems published in local papers. In spring 1933 Trick suggested the two men both write a poem on the subject of 'immortality'. Trick's poem, which was published in a newspaper the following year, contained the refrain "For death is not the end."Ferris (1989) p. 83 In 1933, in a notebook marked 'April', Thomas wrote the poem "And death shall have no dominion". Trick persuaded him to seek a publisher and in May of that year it was printed in ''
New English Weekly ''The New English Weekly'' was a leading British review of "Public Affairs, Literature and the Arts." It was founded in April 1932 by Alfred Richard Orage shortly after his return from Paris. One of Britain's most prestigious editors, Orage had ed ...
''. On 10 September 1936, two years after the release of his first volume of poetry ('' 18 Poems''), ''Twenty-five Poems'' was published. It revealed Thomas's personal beliefs pertaining to religion and the forces of nature, and included "And death shall have no dominion".


In popular culture

* The Year One '' Space: 1999'' episode "
Death's Other Dominion '' Space: 1999'', a British science-fiction television series, ran for 48 episodes broadcast between 1975 and 1977. The first series (or season, often referred to as Year One) of 24 episodes began transmission in 1975, though production of the fi ...
" is titled after the poem. * The poem is featured significantly in the television series '' Beauty and the Beast''. * It was used at the start and ending of the movie '' Omega Doom''. * The titles of the novels ''They Shall Have Stars'' by James Blish and ''No Dominion'' by
Charlie Huston Charlie Huston is a novelist and TV writer. His twelve novels span several genres from crime to horror to science fiction. His books have been published in English by Ballentine, Del Rey, Mulholland and Orion, and translated into nine other lang ...
are taken from the poem. * In
Brave Saint Saturn Brave Saint Saturn (stylized as braveSaintSaturn, brave saint saturn or BS2) is a Christian rock band formed in Denver, Colorado in 1999. The band is a side-project of members of Five Iron Frenzy started by Reese Roper. The band calls their mus ...
's album ''
Anti-Meridian The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian 180° both east and west of the prime meridian in a geographical coordinate system. The longitude at this line can be given as either east or west. On Earth, these two meridians form a great ...
'' the final five lines of the first verse open the CD, accompanied by music. * In the film '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'' the title is quoted in a conversation about death. * In the film ''
The Weight of Water ''The Weight of Water'' is a 1997 bestselling novel by Anita Shreve. Half of the novel is historical fiction based on the Smuttynose Island murders, which took place in 1873. The book was adapted for a film of the same name, directed by Kathryn ...
'' from the book of the same title written by
Anita Shreve Anita Hale Shreve (1946 – March 29, 2018) was an American writer, chiefly known for her novels. One of her first published stories, '' Past the Island, Drifting'' (published in 1975), was awarded an O. Henry Prize in 1976. Early years a ...
, Sean Penn in the role of melancholy poet Thomas Janes recites the last four lines of the first stanza. At the end of the film after Janes drowns, the film reprises his recitation of the second and third lines of this section, but this time the film leaves the last line poignantly unspoken. * In the second and final part of the 2011 BBC TV miniseries '' The Field of Blood'' the poem's second through ninth lines are recited from memory by character Dr. Pete, played by Peter Capaldi, in a pub as he drunkenly faces his imminent death of cancer, seated alone. *
George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
recites part of the poem in the 2002 movie ''
Solaris Solaris may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...
''. * In the Season 6 soundtrack of ''Lost'' the piece which shares its name with the poem is played while detailing Richard Alpert's life. * Paul Kelly performs the poem as a song on his 2018 album ''
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
''. * In the German film Rosenstrasse, 2004, directed by Margaretha von Trotta, a Jewish woman about to be deported to Auschwitz recites part of the poem to another woman who is also about to be deported, "Though lovers be lost, love shall not, and death shall have no dominion."Rosenstrasse is available to view on Amazon. * Dr. Niki Alexander, forensic pathologist, played by
Emilia Fox Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox (born 31 July 1974) is an English actress and presenter whose film debut was in Roman Polanski's film '' The Pianist''. Her other films include the Italian–French–British romance-drama film ''The Soul Keeper'' (20 ...
, reads the whole poem at her father's memorial service in the 2012 episode of ''
Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McC ...
'' (TV Series): "Death Has No Dominion, Pt. 1" and the episode title is based on the poem. *Mithu Sanyal's German novel ''Identitti'' (2020) features the poem as part of a ritual carried out by the goddess Kali, a character in the novel.


Notes


Bibliography

*


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:And death shall have no dominion Anglo-Welsh literature Poetry by Dylan Thomas Poems about death Modernist poems