Do you think the process of image formation in his poems is fully controlled by his consciousness or partly prompted by subconscious imagination? Notice that on the one hand he claims that he is a conscious craftsman and on the other admits that he does not make an image, “let perhaps, an image be made emotionally in me”. Would you say that the logical or linguistic inconsistency is imaginative or emotional consistency? (MEG 102) (DYLAN THOMAS)

Dylan Thomas's poetry is characterized by rich and evocative imagery, which suggests a depth of imagination that is not fully controlled by conscious thought alone. While Thomas claimed to be a conscious craftsman of his poetry, he also acknowledged that the process of image formation could be partly prompted by subconscious imagination.


In his essay, "Notes on the Art of Poetry," Thomas writes that "I tend to think that an image is never made deliberately in poetry but that, if it is any good, it is made emotionally in the poet and then passes into the poem." This suggests that the process of image formation is not entirely under the control of the poet's conscious mind, but rather arises from a deeper, more intuitive level of creativity.


At the same time, however, Thomas was also highly conscious of the craft of poetry, and his work is characterized by a careful attention to language and form. He saw himself as a craftsman of his art, and believed that a poem should be crafted with care and precision.


The apparent inconsistency between Thomas's claims to both conscious control and subconscious inspiration is, in fact, a sign of his imaginative and emotional consistency. Thomas's work is marked by a deep sensitivity to the world around him and a willingness to explore the depths of his own psyche, and his poetry reflects the interplay between these two levels of consciousness.


Overall, while Thomas's process of image formation may not be entirely under his conscious control, his work is marked by a consistency of imaginative and emotional depth that is grounded in a deep understanding of the craft of poetry.