Interesting stuff. Being Welsh, Dylan Thomas has always been a great influence on me. I can see why Alison relates Dylan Thomas to Van Gough - there is a certain primal energy as Peter suggests. However, I tend to think that Thomas' poetry is more intricate than Van Gough's painting.
I don't disagree with Sitwell's comments, but they don't say much about how Thomas fits into the Welsh tradition. The bardds (bards) of Wales had an important relationship with the holy force of nature and I think that Thomas fits very well into this tradition. 'A Refusal to Mourn' is a variation on a traditional Welsh praise poem. It also adopts the somewhat haughty tone of the Welsh bardds in that it is a rebuke to those who do utter a sound.
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