The Heart and Mind: the Message in R.S. Thomas' "Remembering"
Kyla Matthews
Sobey
English 1302-002
09 November 2012
The Heart and Mind: The Message in R.S. Thomas’ “Remembering” “R.S. Thomas writes about the people of his country in a style that some critics have compared to the harsh and rugged terrain” (R.S. Thomas). Thomas grew up with a father who was a sailor and lived in British ports with his mother. He started his early schooling late which was “only pursued sporadically until his father found steady work with a ferry boat company” (R.S. Thomas). Following his early education, he set out to study Anglican Priesthood. “In 1936, Thomas was ordained deacon in the Anglican Church. . .In 1937, he became and Anglican Priest” (R.S. Thomas). Thomas didn’t actually start writing poetry seriously until he met the woman who would later be his wife. That being said, “No Truce with the Furies” was not published until 1995. This book holds Thomas’ poem, “Remembering,” which essentially calls both the heart and mind into love; in this case, the love of his wife in their old age. In any relationship that is wanted to last love cannot exist with just one or the other; it must have both the heart and the mind to exist in any substantial form. Love is a matter of the heart. Because of this, love means something different to every person. The Webster dictionary provides thirteen different definitions of love alone. The first definition is, “Strong affection for another rising out of kinship or personal ties” (LoveAbout). This definition is one most people would relate to at least while growing up. Webster’s continues with another definition saying, “attraction based on sexual desires: affection and tenderness felt by lovers” (LoveAbout). This kind of love is experienced as people grow older. This also is the kind of love experienced in R.S. Thomas’ “Remembering”. The poem starts by reminding the younger readers to love what they have now because one day the relationship will change. Thomas states, “Love her now for her ecstasies,
Sobey
English 1302-002
09 November 2012
The Heart and Mind: The Message in R.S. Thomas’ “Remembering” “R.S. Thomas writes about the people of his country in a style that some critics have compared to the harsh and rugged terrain” (R.S. Thomas). Thomas grew up with a father who was a sailor and lived in British ports with his mother. He started his early schooling late which was “only pursued sporadically until his father found steady work with a ferry boat company” (R.S. Thomas). Following his early education, he set out to study Anglican Priesthood. “In 1936, Thomas was ordained deacon in the Anglican Church. . .In 1937, he became and Anglican Priest” (R.S. Thomas). Thomas didn’t actually start writing poetry seriously until he met the woman who would later be his wife. That being said, “No Truce with the Furies” was not published until 1995. This book holds Thomas’ poem, “Remembering,” which essentially calls both the heart and mind into love; in this case, the love of his wife in their old age. In any relationship that is wanted to last love cannot exist with just one or the other; it must have both the heart and the mind to exist in any substantial form. Love is a matter of the heart. Because of this, love means something different to every person. The Webster dictionary provides thirteen different definitions of love alone. The first definition is, “Strong affection for another rising out of kinship or personal ties” (LoveAbout). This definition is one most people would relate to at least while growing up. Webster’s continues with another definition saying, “attraction based on sexual desires: affection and tenderness felt by lovers” (LoveAbout). This kind of love is experienced as people grow older. This also is the kind of love experienced in R.S. Thomas’ “Remembering”. The poem starts by reminding the younger readers to love what they have now because one day the relationship will change. Thomas states, “Love her now for her ecstasies,
Cited: New International Version. [Colorado Springs]: Biblica, 2011. BibleGateway.com. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. "LoveAbout Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now Displayed on One Page." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2012. "R. S. Thomas." : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.