A Stylistic Analysis of Dylan Thomas’“This Bread I Break”.doc

A Stylistic Analysis of Dylan Thomas?“This Bread I Break” Abstract:This paper is intended to analyse the stylistic features of “This Bread I Break”written by Dylan Thomas by employing the theory of foregrounding, the result of which is expected to reveal the stylistic beauty of the poem. Furthermore, the theme of the poem will be explored so that the readers will have a better understanding in appreciating the poem. 　　Key words:stylistic features foregrounding deviation 　　 　　ⅠIntroduction 　　This Bread I Break was written by Dylan Thomas, one of the most brilliant poets in the English language. This poem was included in the Twenty-five Poems published in 1936, which contained much of Thomas most introspective writing and outlined his own personal philosophy of religion in which he moved away from conventional Christianity. His words and explosive imagery intrigue his readers and challenge them to explore the depths of his poetry. In this paper, I will try to make an analysis of the stylistic features of his poem “This Bread I Break” by employing the theory of foregrounding. 　　Before we come to the concept of foregrounding, we must have a good understanding of the relationship between poetic language andordinary language’ first. normal uses of languageautomatize’ language to such an extent that its speaker no longer see its expressive or aesthetic power; poetry must de-automatize’ orforeground’ language by breaking the rules of everyday language. 　　Leech defines foregrounding as this: “As a general rule, anyone who wishes to investigate the significance and value of a work of art must concentrate on the element of interest and surprise, rather than on the automatic pattern. Such deviations from linguistic or other socially accepted norms have been given the special name offoregrounding’, which invokes the analogy of a figure seen against a background. The artistic deviationstick out’ from its background, the automatic system, like a figure in the foreground of