We were a people taut for war; the hills
Were no harder, the thin grass
Clothed them more warmly than the coarse
Shirts our small bones. Ref: historically of short stature
We fought, and were always in retreat,
Like snow thawing upon the slopes
Of Mynydd Mawr; and yet the stranger
Never found our ultimate stand
In the thick woods, declaiming verse Ref: strong culture
To the sharp prompting of the harp.
Our kings died, or they were slain
By the old treachery at the ford.
Our bards perished, driven from the halls
Of nobles by the thorn and bramble.
We were a people bred on legends,
Warming our hands at the red past.
The great were ashamed of our loose rags
Clinging stubbornly to the proud tree
Of blood and birth, our lean bellies
And mud houses were a proof
Of our ineptitude for life.
We were a people wasting ourselves
In fruitless battles for our masters,
In lands to which we had no claim,
With men for whom we felt no hatred.
We were a people, and are so yet.
When we have finished quarrelling for crumbs
Under the table, or gnawing the bones
Of a dead culture, we will arise
And greet each other in a new dawn.
R.S. Thomas
The speaker makes strong reference to the Welsh nation’s sense of tradition and
culture and how such culture serves to make the Welsh a unified nation who will fight
for their country at all costs. The lexical diction is of death, suffering, degradation and
servitude. The poem evokes a sense of resilience and fortitude of a nation constantly
engaged in warfare. The simile comparing the recurring entering into battle to the
snow retreating from the mountain effectively conveys the inevitability of the need to
fight; in the same way as the return of the snow is inevitable.
The message is that the common people sacrificed themselves at the commands of
their leaders for the sake of their nation. The references to “Mynydd Mawr. “verse”,
“harp”, “legends”, “blood and birth” evoke the sense of pride in being Welsh, a nation
steeped in rich culture. The Welsh words “Mynydd Mawr” serve as a reminder of the
wealth that this nation held in its hands; the fight was not only for the lives of the
“people” but it was for the survival of their language and culture.
Were no harder, the thin grass
Clothed them more warmly than the coarse
Shirts our small bones. Ref: historically of short stature
We fought, and were always in retreat,
Like snow thawing upon the slopes
Of Mynydd Mawr; and yet the stranger
Never found our ultimate stand
In the thick woods, declaiming verse Ref: strong culture
To the sharp prompting of the harp.
Our kings died, or they were slain
By the old treachery at the ford.
Our bards perished, driven from the halls
Of nobles by the thorn and bramble.
We were a people bred on legends,
Warming our hands at the red past.
The great were ashamed of our loose rags
Clinging stubbornly to the proud tree
Of blood and birth, our lean bellies
And mud houses were a proof
Of our ineptitude for life.
We were a people wasting ourselves
In fruitless battles for our masters,
In lands to which we had no claim,
With men for whom we felt no hatred.
We were a people, and are so yet.
When we have finished quarrelling for crumbs
Under the table, or gnawing the bones
Of a dead culture, we will arise
And greet each other in a new dawn.
R.S. Thomas
The speaker makes strong reference to the Welsh nation’s sense of tradition and
culture and how such culture serves to make the Welsh a unified nation who will fight
for their country at all costs. The lexical diction is of death, suffering, degradation and
servitude. The poem evokes a sense of resilience and fortitude of a nation constantly
engaged in warfare. The simile comparing the recurring entering into battle to the
snow retreating from the mountain effectively conveys the inevitability of the need to
fight; in the same way as the return of the snow is inevitable.
The message is that the common people sacrificed themselves at the commands of
their leaders for the sake of their nation. The references to “Mynydd Mawr. “verse”,
“harp”, “legends”, “blood and birth” evoke the sense of pride in being Welsh, a nation
steeped in rich culture. The Welsh words “Mynydd Mawr” serve as a reminder of the
wealth that this nation held in its hands; the fight was not only for the lives of the
“people” but it was for the survival of their language and culture.
