This paper discusses Dylan Thomas' influence as a Welshman upon the world of English poetry. Thomas offered the English-speaking world the opportunity to peer into the complex and all-too-contradictory world of the Welsh heart. He introduced Welsh
mysticism, and drew upon his
early up-bring and the influence of the Church on his life. From the paper: "To
say that Dylan Thomas' early years in Swansea, Wales were full of contradiction would be a gross understatement. It is not easy to say whether his birth in an
age when to speak Welsh in Wales was considered to be something less than correct was to be his
greatest boon or his greatest curse. Whatever the case may be, it cannot be denied that this dichotomy engendered Dylan Thomas with a poetic prowess that was uniquely his own. What's more, it can be argued that it was his very Welsh-ness, with its powerful imagery and intricate word-play, which dazzled an English-speaking world. He embraced Welsh passions and wrapped it in the English language. This Anglo-Welsh voice touched a literary nerve in a way that no other poet had before. Thomas Dylan straddled a cultural divide, bringing the ancient Welsh mysticism, Puritanism, and
bardic tradition into the pragmatic world of the Western Industrial Age."