Abstract

This paper presents a study of the relation between the meaning of the words and their phonological features within the poetic context. The article presents a short overview of the existing theories and assumptions in the researched area. Special attention is given to the theory of the arbitrariness of signs and recent studies, suggesting this claim to be incomplete and subject to numerous exceptions. This research is aimed at finding the evidence of metaphorical use of sounds patterns in the poetry of Dylan Thomas. This paper presents a detailed analysis of four poems: “From Love’s First Fever to Her Plague”, “Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines”, “Especially When the October Wind” and “After the Funeral” with a few examples from other poems. The results of the analysis show that sound, being one of the most important elements of poetic texts, is able to obtain a specific semantic meaning of its own but is highly dependent on the context. Interpretation of sound patterns and their expressive potential is crucial for a comprehensive analysis of poetic texts.

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