The Force of Time
The poem “The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower,” by Dylan Thomas, has to be read attentively at least twice to begin to grasp its meaning. In the poem Thomas handles all of the literary elements with dexterity, which is why there are so many possible interpretations. But the general theme of the cycle of life is evident through his skillful use of imagery, symbolism, and connotation.
In the first line of the first stanza Thomas introduces “The Force,” the omnipotent element that is ever-present in the poem.
The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever. (1-5)
The “green fuse” represents the stem of the flower, but through connotation “fuse” is thought of as something explosive, contrary to a gentle flower. The word “green” implies youth, exuberance, and growth as he describes his age. In the second and third lines the force that produced life in the flower and himself is described as the same force that destroys life. The fourth line shatters the beautiful image of a rose, a symbol of healthiness and vigor, when it is described as crooked, inviting negative connotations. Just as the rose is feeble, he is also weakened and the seasons of his life change from springtime liveliness to “wintry fever.” The image of a frail, hunched over old man comes to mind.
The second stanza resembles the first stanza in set-up and message.
The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks. (6-10)
Once again “the force” is brought up. The “force” here extends the flow of the stream as it drives it along, similar to the first stanza in which the force extended the growth of the flower. “Red blood” is homogenous to “green age” from the first stanza – they both represent life and vivacity. In lines seven and eight “the force” becomes destructive again as in the first stanza. The force that pushed life along becomes the very force that takes away life as it “dries” the stream and turns the speaker’s blood to “wax,” which represents the speaker’s stiff corpse after embalming. As in the first stanza he is unable to communicate his feelings. An attempt to explain the situation to his body would be futile, since it is already lifeless.
In the third stanza the force is replaced by “the hand,” and like the “force” in the previous two stanzas it has the power to control and alter nature.
The hand that whirls the water in the pool
Stirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing wind
Hauls my shroud sail.
And I am dumb to tell the hanging man
How of my clay is made the hangman’s lime.
The “hand” agitates the normally calm waters of the pool and the generally motionless quicksand, and it is so powerful that it also controls the wind. The third line of this stanza is a double entendre. The speaker can be referring to a ship where the “shroud” is one of the ropes that support a ship’s mast; in this case the “hand’s” power is demonstrated as it controls the ship’s course. Another interpretation of the third line is similar to the third lines in the previous stanzas in which he states his demise; in this case the “shroud” would be the sheet used to wrap a dead body for burial. In the fourth and fifth lines the speaker find it senseless to communicate his feelings with the “hanging man” since they both share the same fate. The speaker’s body, his “clay,” will be in the hangman’s pit, which is doused in “lime” to nullify the smell of rotting corpses.
While the first three stanzas illustrated the abilities of “the force,” the fourth stanza identifies the force as being “time.”
The lips of time leech to the fountain head;
Love drips and gathers, but the fallen blood
Shall calm her sores.
And I am dumb to tell a weather’s wind
How time has ticked a heaven round the stars.
The denotation of “fountainhead” is an original source, therefore, where life begins, time leeches the fountain head just as age exhausts life. The line can also interpret as the “lips of time” symbolizing the genitals of a female and the “fountain head” as the phallus of a man. The latter interpretation ties in well with the rest of the poem because of its significance in the cycle of life; the speaker is playing his role in reproduction. The next line also leads on to sexual connotations but leans more towards the reoccurring theme of death where “fallen blood” represents a dead person. The speaker brings another life into being through reproduction in line one and in lines two and three he explains that the burden on society will be offset by his death, “fallen blood.” Time is referred to as “her” and the burden on society is represented by “sores.” He is incapable of explaining to the wind how time works because the wind already knows the nature of time. The “weather’s wind” has been to the heavens and the stars and has seen all possible weathers.
And I am dumb to tell the lover’s tomb
How at my sheet goes the same crooked worm.
We’ll post an interpretation for the final lines of this poem with a quote from commenter James Stephen: “This is a tricky refrain and I’m sure it’s interpreted differently. The words “lover’s tomb” could have many implications. In essence though, again, worms act differently to someone alive as they do someone dead (regardless of love – would be my interpretation of the explicit reference to love).” (Read the rest of James’ analysis in the comments below)