The People and Landscape of the Welsh Hillcountry :: R.S. Thomas Poems Poetry Essays

The People and Landscape of the Welsh hill democracy R.S. Thomas writes about the wad and landscape of the Welshhillcountry. By referring closely to at least 2 of his poems, showhow he makes the Welsh countryside and its inhabitants vivid to thereader.RS Thomas was born in Cardiff in 1913. He was a Parish Priest inWales for more than 20 years. During this time he taught himself theWelsh language in order to apprehend the remote hill husbandmans that arunder his care.He writes almost only about the people and landscape of theWelsh hill country. The poems that he writes are lacking in mentalemotion but they never lack tender or compassion for the massivelyhardworking farmers he populates so well. The landscape that Thomasdescribes so well reflects the grimness of the mens lives.The peoples lives are never sweetened nor romanticized and the poethas no illusions on its harshness. Yet he has a deep understanding forthe hill country and its workers. This shows that R.S Thomas canr elate to the Welsh hill country actually well.The first poem that I am writing about is called The Hill FarmerSpeaks. This poem dialogue about the life of a farmer who has beengreatly affected by his work. The first verse of this poem talksabout a man who has no get by and no friends. This we strike is be coiffureof the land as it says, I am the farmer stripped of love and thoughtand grace by the lands hardness. This shows the hard work that theman has through with(p) over the years has taken from him his love, thought andgrace it is also a fiction devising this vivid for the reader. But hewants us to know that he is still a human by saying, Listen, listen,I am a man like you. Alliteration is used here (listen, listen), tocause the affect that the man really is talking to you. The sameaffect is caused when he says, But what I am saying. It shows youthat the mans surroundings are very evacuate and hostile by it saying,Desolate areas rough with dew. This is also a metaphor sho wing itsvividness to the reader.The second verse of this poem tells us of the tip going over the hillpastures, hill pastures being a induce of any hill farm. After thishe says, Year after year, making this process seem constant. In thenext three lines there seems to be a link between the ewes and thefarmer, where it says, The ewes starve, milkless, for want of the new