A Bad-Tempered Old Man Writing from the Periphery: Thresholds in R.S. Thomas’s Poems

Year 2019, Volume: 7 Issue: 13, 1 - 21, 22.03.2019

Şafak Altunsoy

https://doi.org/10.20304/humanitas.427818

Abstract

R. S. Thomas relates the story of a person who cannot feel at home in the established institutions of the society. This study starts with a brief explanation of Welsh poetry and Thomas’s place in it. Then the study analyses the selected poems of R.S Thomas from his early and later collections in order to trace the emotional breaking points in the poems. The study also attempts to read Thomas’s poetry with respect to the nomadic subjectivity and nomadic time sense. Deliberately choosing to be at the margin, the poetic persona walks on the borders of reality and illusion by trying to find an outlet that would let him out of the long-felt restlessness. By discovering the impossibility of such an option, he turns back to the temporality of the order, but he grasps the glimpses of what he yearns for in the flux and reflux.

Keywords

Welsh poetry, British poetry, R. S. Thomas, nomadic ethics, authority

Kıyıdan Yazan Huysuz İhtiyar: R. S. Thomas’ın Şiirlerinde Eşikler

Abstract

R. S. Thomas, kendisini toplumun yerleşik kurumları içinde huzursuz hisseden bir kişinin hikayesini anlatır. Bu çalışma, Galler şiiri ve Thomas’ın yeri üzerine kısa bir açıklamayla başlar. Daha sonra, çalışma şiirlerdeki duygusal kırılma noktalarının izini sürebilmek için Thomas’ın ilk ve sonraki derlemelerinden seçilen şiirleri inceler. Çalışma ayrıca Thomas’ın şiirlerini göçer özellik ve göçer zaman kavramı üzerinden okumaya çalışır. Bununla birlikte varacak bir hedefin olmaması hissi yokçu bir deneyime sevk etmez. Aksine birbirine bağlanmışlık düşüncesini ve Thomas’ın şiirini besleyen bir iki bilinçliliği oraya çıkarır. Marjinde olmayı açıkça tercih ederek, şiir kişisi uzun süredir hissettiği huzursuzluktan kendisini çıkaracak sınırlar üzerinde yürür. Böyle bir seçeneğin olmadığını keşfederek, düzenin zamansallığına döner. Ancak hasretini çektiği şeyin kırıntılarını devingen akışta yakalar

Keywords

Galler şiiri, Britanya şiiri, R. S. Thomas, göçer etik, otorite

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