In My Craft or Sullen Art

“Bardic Symbols” by Walt Whitman (1860)

Dylan Thomas’s intricate use of language to create compelling sonic effects is in part a product of his fascination with Walt Whitman. Thomas studied Whitman’s language, which reflected Whitman’s interest in the emotive potential of opera. This poem positions Whitman, as Thomas does, as a Bardic poet, speaking in grand terms about cosmic things.

Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake (1794)

One of Thomas’s other acknowledged influences was William Blake. This collection of seemingly simple poems explores emotional realities such as love, respect, dignity, and identity. Thomas responded to Blake’s mysticism and his perception of the poet as a religious figure.

“Sailing to Byzantium” by William Butler Yeats (1927)

Another important influence on Thomas, William Butler Yeats here explores the deeply spiritual work of the poet as a lonely misfit trying to find a way to beauty. In language and symbols that are reflected in “In My Craft or Sullen Art,” Yeats examines the fragile poetic soul and the vulnerability of composition in a world of mercenary materialism.