Point of View

The poem is told from the first-person point of view of a speaker who shares his purpose in writing poetry. Known as an ars poetica, this form explores the art of poetry by considering factors like intention, craft, and technique. The use of first person provides the reader with insight into the mind of a writer who works in solitude. Though speakers should not be conflated with poets, some readers understand the speaker in this poem to be Dylan Thomas himself. If so, then Thomas wrote this poem to indicate his poetic objective: namely, to reach ordinary people who experience love and grief. However, Thomas did not fully extricate himself from society and worldly matters in his life. For example, he frequented pubs and worked to earn money through poetry. Though the speaker in “In my craft or sullen art” claims to not be motivated...