Discourse Analysis of Dylan Thomas’s Fern Hill

Abstract

The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between linguistic structure and its cultural or situational context of the poem. The research proposes to investigate the literary context and uses of   metaphors in the poem ‘Fern Hill’ with the help of MAK Halliday’s model of discourse analysis. The textual analysis of the poem provides a platform a gateway to interpret the poem more effectively. Halliday developed an analysis of context in terms of field, tenor and mode. It helps to demonstrate and comprehend the situational and ideational function of the poem. The analysis of the poem reveals the ideational and thematic axis of the literary context which characterizes the writer’s experiences of his childhood and young age. The analysis reflects the eternal joy of the author by comparing his phases of life with the shining star and the Sabbath of the holy stream. The textual analysis of metaphor of the poem enhances and develops the interpretative abilities of the reader to develop their own context of the poem.