Every Morning I Wake by Dylan Thomas [summary, analysis, exercise and original text]

Every Morning I Wake, composed by Dylan Thomas, is a poem that highlights the magnificence of God. In this poem, the speaker prays to the magnificent God to have mercy on ordinary inhabitants living under the Milk Wood. This poem is taken from the Class 12 English textbook. The following summary, analysis, and exercise will help the readers understand the text. For the readers’ convenience, the original poem, Every Morning I Wake, by Dylan Thomas, has also been mentioned.
{getToc} $title={Table of Contents}
Summary and analysis of Every Morning I Wake by Thomas Hood
Summary of the poem in short The poem "Every Morning I Wake", written by Thomas Hood, is an extract from Under the Milk Wood. In this poem, the poet talks about God’s grandeur. Thomas, in the poem, prays to the magnificent God to have mercy on ordinary inhabitants living under the Milk Wood. He requests God to have mercy upon them because they are poor creatures whose lives are uncertain and they don’t know what may happen to them shortly.
About the poet Dylan Thomas Dylan Thomas was born on October 27, 1914, in Swansea, Wales. His father was a dock worker, and his mother worked as a piano teacher. Both of Thomas’s parents were very involved in the arts and music; it is said that Thomas inherited his love of language from his mother, while his passion for music came from his father. As such, poetry and literature were well-known influences in Thomas’s life from the beginning, especially through his father’s love of the Welsh poets Lewis Carroll and William Shakespeare and the English poet Robert Browning.
Analysis of Every Morning I Wake The poem "Every Morning I Wake" was written by Dylan Thomas. The speaker in the poem is praying to God. In this poem, the persona prays to the magnificent God to have mercy on ordinary and poor creatures (inhabitants) living under the Milk Wood. So, the poem can be read as a prayer to God. Through the poem, the poet highlights the magnificence of God.
A complete summary of Every Morning I Wake The speaker in the poem prays to the magnificent God every morning when he/she wakes up. He requests God to have mercy on all the living creatures on earth who are supposed to die sooner or later. Through this first stanza, the poet highlights the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God. As the sun sets and the living creatures go to sleep, the speaker worries about whether they will be able to see the following day or not. So, the speaker again prays to God and asks for a blessing to save their lives throughout the night. In this second stanza, the poet highlights the fate of all the living creatures on earth who are uncertain of what will happen to them shortly. The speaker is not sure what may happen to their lives after sleeping at night. This stanza also focuses on the uncertainty of life and death. The speaker, then, admits that the people who live under Milk Wood are not wholly bad or good. So, he pleads to God to see their best sides and not the worst ones. In this third stanza, the poet praises God’s kind nature towards all living creatures who see the positive aspects and excuse the bad sides. Finally, the speaker begs God to let them see another day by blessing them all night. He bids goodbye to the setting sun, just for now. It means that the speaker wishes to see the sunrise the next morning too. In this last stanza, the poet emphasizes the all-knowing and all-powerful God who decides and permits living creatures to continue their life on the earth.
Understanding the poem Answer the following questions. a. Why do people offer prayers to the God? b. What do you feel when you visit the mosque, temple, or church? Why do you feel so?
About the poet Dylan Thomas  Born  in  Swansea,  Wales,  Dylan  Thomas  (1914-1953) is famous for his acutely lyrical and emotional poetry. Thomas can be seen as an extension into   the 20th century of the general movement called Romanticism, that flourished in the nineteenth century Englnad, particularly in its emphasis on imagination, emotion, intuition, spontaneity, and organic form. Considered to be one of the greatest Welsh poets of all time, Thomas is largely known for his imaginative use of language and vivid imagery in his poems. He started working for BBC in 1945. Under Milk Wood (1953), a radio play, was written over a long period of time during the last months of his life. It is set in a small Welsh town called Llareggub and covers one day in the lives of its provincial characters.
Every Morning I Wake short summary “Every Morning I Wake” is an extract from Under the Milk Wood. In this poem, Thomas prays to the magnificent God to have mercy on ordinary inhabitants living under the Milk Wood.
Every Morning I Wake by Dylan  Thomas  [Original Poem] Every morning when I wake, Dear Lord, a little prayer I make, O please do keep Thy loving eye On all poor creatures born to die   And every evening at sun-down I ask a blessing on the town, For whether we last the night or no I’m sure is always touch-and-go.   We are not wholly bad or good Who live our lives under Milk Wood, And Thou, I know, wilt be the first To see our best side, not our worst. O let us see another day!  Bless us all this night, I pray, And to the sun we all will bow And say, good-bye – but just for now!
Glossary [word meaning]
Milk Wood (adj.):	a wooded area in the hills above a Welsh seaside village of Llaggerub in Dylan Thomas’ play Under Milk Wood
Question answer of the poem Every Morning I Wake Answer the following questions. a. When does the speaker pray to the Lord? b. What does the speaker pray for? c. Who are the ‘poor creatures’? Why does the speaker call them ‘poor creatures’? d. What does Milk Wood sound like? A type of wood or a place? Why? e. Why do the inhabitants of Milk Wood bow to the setting sun ‘but just for now’?
Reference to the context a. Discuss “Every Morning When I Wake” as a prayer to the God. b. Why does the speaker make a prayer to the God, but not to a king, a billionaire or a scientist? c. How does the poet highlight the magnificence of the God? d. How does the rhyme scheme of the poem reinforce its message?
Reference beyond the text a. Does the God exist? Give your opinion. b. In his Epistle to the author of the book, The Three Impostors (1768), Voltaire says, “Even if the God didn’t exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” Write an essay highlighting the importance of the God in the society.