My Understanding of the Meaning of Here by R.S. Thomas

My Understanding of the Meaning of Here by R.S. Thomas

After reading this poem through a few times, I can clearly see that

there are many different interpretations that people can make. Some

may come to a conclusion that the poem is about Jesus and his

crucifixion, and others may believe it is about war or even from the

viewpoint of an unborn child. However, I believe that all of these

meanings are true in some parts of the poem, as for me, no one meaning

fits perfectly as there are always some lines which do not fit under

that specific meaning.

The very first line, 'I am a man now' stands out as ever word is a

stressed syllable and is monosyllabic. This technique signals to the

reader that there is a deeper meaning. This line could be referred to

'Jesus' as well as 'war'. It could be referred to Jesus in the sense

that Jesus was brought to Earth as God but in the form of man. It

could be referred to the subject of 'war' as the statement could be

showing that this man has come of age as a true adult, possibly due to

seeing things that no man should see during battle which has destroyed

his innocence. In lines 2 and 3, 'Pass your hand over my brow you can

feel the place where the brains grow', passing a hand over a brow (or

forehead) is something that a person does when he/she has a fever. In

this case it could be referring to a fever of the mind; there is a

sickness that lies underneath in the brain. In Jesus' case this could

be seen as a good thing as the fever may be Jesus' goodness. When

looking at it in the context of 'war', it is a bad thing as this

sickness is something which will not go away; his experiences during

battle will stay with him like a fever. Lines 2 and 3 could also be

referred to an unborn child as 'pass my hand over my brow' is a caring