DANILA

1
TWENTIETH-CENTURY ENGLISH LITERATURE
DANILA FLORIN GROUP 1
SEMINAR INSTRUCTOR: DANIELA CARSTEA

ALTARWISE BY OWL-LIGHT BY DYLAN THOMAS

ARCHETYPAL ANALYSIS
This essay will approach Dylan Thomas's poem Altarwise by Owl-Light from an archetypal
perspective. I will attempt to identify the archetypes present in the above mentioned literary work,
discuss their meanings and relevance, as well as establish connection between the archetypes found in
the text. To this end, I will make use of several definitions and examples of common archetypes from
various sources, and provide possible interpretations of the poetic imagery, in order to support my
argument. The essay will be divided in two parts. I will begin by explaining the notion of archetype, its
place in the context of literary criticism, as well as the distinction between archetype and myth. In the
second part, I will make use of the knowledge gathered in the first and provide an application on the
poem.
As a part of his extensive study on human pshychology, Carl Jung put forward a theory made of
three parts, the last of which being The Collective Unconscious, a mechanism of the human psyche
shared among the entire human species, filled with knowledge and experiences that everyone is born
with. The collective unconscious differs from all other aspects of the human nature in that it is not
touched by any outer influence, and is therefore the very core of the human mind, that all men have in
common.
In his work, entitled Psychological Types, Carl Jung defines the archetypes as primordial
immages, symbolic formulae which are employed whenever concious notions are either not yet
existent, or absolutely impossible for internal or external reasons. According to Jung, the contents of
the collective unconcious assume the shape of marked concepts or tendencies. (Jung, Carl Gustav,
"DEFINIII.".Tipuri Psihologice. pg. 408.) Archetypes are therefore raw manifestations of the
collective unconcious, primitive projections and reactions of the human mind. Transcribed into literary
context, The word archetype refers to any recurring image, character type, plot, formula, or pattern of
action. An archetype, then, is a kind of supertype, or model, different versions of which recur

DANILA
2
throughout the history of human production: in our myths, literature, dreams, religions, and rituals of
social behavior. (Tyson, Lois. "Structuralist Criticism." Critical Theory Today: A User-friendly Guide.
pg.223). A common misconception is that archetypes are definite motifs or mythological images, to the
creation of which man has actively contributed. That is however false, since archetypes, as primordial
images, only occur on a subconscious level, while myths and motifs act as concrete representations of
these images, which where given shape in an attempt to express the primitive instinct of the archetype.
Jung clarifies further: The archetype is a tendency to form such representations of a motif representations that can vary a great deal in detail without losing their basic pattern. ( Jung, C. G., "Part
1: Approaching the Unconscious." Man and His Symbols. pg.64 )
Therefore, an archetypal analysis should identify and discuss not only the myths that the author
may have drawn inspiration from, but also the primitive drive which inspired the motifs or myths
which can be found in the text. In the first sonnet of the poem, the life of Jesus Christ is described with
Biblical imagery. The gentleman, as the poet calls him, lay graveward, meaning he was knowingly
heading towards death, which symbolizes his sacrifice on the cross, where he was hung by nails
(Adam's hangnail). Abbadon, who in jewish culture represents the demon of the abyss, or the devil, is
also present, representing the myth of the fall. The furies, female deities in greek mythology, are by his
side, representing the women present at Christ's crucifixion. The mandrake, which in the Bible is
described as a solution of fertility for barren women, is used as a symbol for the unusual circumstances
of Jesus Christ's birth. The half-way house represents the Earth, situated halfway between heaven and
hell. The poem Altarwise by Owl-Light, as a whole, depicts an entire archetypal cycle of life, starting
from birth and ending in death. Both ends of the cycle are markers which the poet expresses through
astral symbols: Capricorn, the goat, symbolizing life, and cancer, the crab, symbolizing death.
However, in astrology, these symbols are temporal coordinates, associated with cyclic periods of time.
The capricorn corresponds to December, beginning on the 22nd, approximately the time of Jesus Christ's
birth, while the cancer is associated with the first month of summer, around the ascension to heaven.
There are also other temporal archetypes present. In the first sonnet, the birth of Jesus is related
simultaneously with the myth of the fall, represented by Abaddon and Adam. His birth is therefore the
transition from divine to human, Christ being stripped of his godliness and being sent to Earth. Owllight, meaning twilight, present in the first sonnet when the fall and birth are both introduced, is,
according to Northrop Frye, the archetypal symbol for sacrifice or fall, and represents Christ's coming

DANILA
3
to Earth as a sacrifice, a degeneration of his former state. Christ is then associated with an old cock, a
harbinger of the morning, a period in the daily cycle which Frye attributes to revival, or resurrection.
Winter stands for failure and defeat, while summer symbolizes triumph. Frye associates summer with
triumph, therefore a possible interpretation is that death, embodied by the cancer, is seen as positive, an
apotheosis of Christ. Death is all metaphors is the phrase which introduces the second sonnet.
Meaning that in the poet's view, death is not just an end to existence, but rather a more complex process
of transcendence. The author then proceeds to present another biblical myth, that of Jacob's ladder,
which is a medium between earth and paradise: The horizontal cross-bones of Abbadon,/ You by the
cavern over the black stairs,/ Rung bone and blade, the verticals of Adam,/ And, manned by midnight,
Jacob to the stars. This biblical reference symbolizes the spiritual ascension to heaven, following the
metaphorical death. The ladder is visually described as being made from the horizontal cross-bones of
Abbadon and the verticals of Adam suggesting that the fall, symbolized by the two is necessary in
the quest for absolution. This ideology outlines another underlying archetypal cycle, that of the quest. It
starts with the fall of man, continues with Jesus Christ's journey on Earth, and ends with his
resurrection and ascension to paradise, his apotheosis and the salvation of humanity.
Dylan Thomas makes use of these Biblical motifs to outline the cycle of the human existence.
By using symbols from various cultures and beliefs, he creates strong and colorful visual imagery,
building his poem around the myth of the quest, using the symbol of Christianity as a general potrayal
of humanity and exploiting archetypal patterns to define the stages of human life. These archetypal
models can be observed in the underlying layers of the sonnets: In the title, the author provides the first
temporal marker, the twilight (Owl-light), a symbol of sacrifice and decadence. The morning
anticipated by the old cock stands for rebirth, and the astrological symbols of the capricorn and
cancer represent the two opposite seasons, winter and summer. These archetypal images are the
landmarks of the cyclic quest described in the poem, from which a possible interpretation of the
author's message can be drawn: birth is the alienation of man from his natural state, and man is forced
to walk the journey of life only to find death, and therefore resurrection and absolution. The biblical
myths are the most appropriate ones for this purpose, since their archetypal nature as well as the
various symbols they provide make them appliable to the human condition.

DANILA
4

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Thomas, Dylan. Altarwise by Owl-Light

2. Jung, Carl Gustav. "Definitii." Trans. Viorica Nicov. Tipuri Psihologice. Bucuresti: Humanitas,
1997. 408. Print.
3. Jung, C. G., and Marie-Luise Von Franz. "Approaching the Unconcious."Man and His Symbols.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964. 64. Print.
4. Tyson, Lois. "Structuralist Criticism."Critical Theory Today: A User-friendly Guide. New York:
Garland Pub., 1999. 223. Print.
5. Frye, Northrop. "The Archetypes of Literature."The Kenyon Review. 1st ed. Vol. 13. N.p.: Kenyon
College, 1951. 104-05. Print.