Dylan Thomas’ “A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London” opens first with a description of darkness through the of antithesis. This allows the speaker to draw a clear contrast between its role in both life and death. Biblical allusions are also used to create an underlying message of religion and its role in both life and death, a key theme throughout Thomas’ poem. The idea of death as a rebirth is hinted at in implications to baptism. Rhetorical question is also used, allowing the speaker to contemplate the process of mourning in itself. The conclusion is drawn that mourning is itself a murder of the spirit in that it strips one of their individuality, and that death unites oneself with nature and its cycle. The speaker’s
