The Force That through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower Death Quotes

The death descriptions start off right away in this one. In the poem's very first stanza, we are told that "the force" not only "blasts" (destroys, kills) the tree's nurturing roots, it's also the speaker's destroyer, the speaker's "death."

In stanza 2, the force is at it again, and that means—yup—more death. This time, Thomas uses water imagery and symbolism to create metaphorical references to death. Water is, for good reason, universally associated with life. If water represents life, what do we get when the speaker describes streams that are drying up and mountain springs being sucked dry? You guessed it—an image that represents death. When the water goes away, so does life.

Just in case those death references were too subtle, Thomas also describes the speaker's blood turning to wax: "turns mine to wax." Waxy blood is definitely not good. Wax doesn't flow, right? We're no doctor, but if the blood isn't flowing then the patient is probably dead.

There's lots of death metaphor and imagery in these lines—some obvious, some more on the cryptic side. Let's start with the tricky stuff. What do you imagine when you see the word "quicksand"? If you're anything like us, you imagine getting stuck in the stuff and sinking to your death—not pleasant. The stanza begins with this ominous "hand" that stirs the quicksand. In addition to playing around in an element usually equated with death, this hand is also tugging on the speaker's "shroud." While "shroud" is a nautical term, in this context, and with all the death imagery that has come before it, we can't help reading this as a death shroud, the sheet a dead body is wrapped in for burial. Now for the obvious stuff. Death imagery doesn't get much more direct than a man hanging by his neck from the end of a rope, and that's just what Thomas gives us in these lines. (The word "rope" in line 12 suddenly got a lot more morbid, didn't it?) He also throws in "the hangman" for good measure. That way, we have an even more complete picture of death—the victim and the killer.

Remember earlier in the section when we were talking about water representing life? Well, Thomas is using that association again. This time we have a fountain, presumably with flowing water, that is being drained by none other than time—who is apparently super-thirsty. With the "lips of time leech[ed] to the fountain head," we have time draining away the water leaving the fountain dry. Death image? We'd say so.

Well, it's fitting that this poem should end with death imagery. For a second it seems like things are looking up. When we glance at the poem's last two lines we see the word "lover." What could be more life affirming than love? But never fear, Thomas isn't getting all warm and fuzzy. Nope—this is a "lover's tomb." Tombs are right up there with hangmen when it comes to direct death imagery.

To top it all off, the poem's last line revisits the image of that death shroud from line 13. It's that "sheet" the worm is after. Worms live underground, and people are buried underground.

You get the picture.