The Hunchback In The Park Flashcards
Subject of The Hunchback in the Park by Dylan Thomas
This is the sad story of a man who is different from others, both physically (he has a deformity, hence “hunchback”) and mentally.
As a result, he is isolated and spends all day in the park.
He is tormented by the local children and also has to avoid the park keeper.
The main character’s life is lonely, miserable and full of fear.
Form and structure of The Hunchback in the Park by Dylan Thomas
Form:
The poem is divided into seven stanzas, each of six lines.
LOn the face of it, the poem looks as if it will be highly organised and regular in its approach but it isn’t.
Structure:
The poem looks regular, with seven clearly separate stanzas, all of which have the same number of lines (six).
However, the punctuation is irregular and minimal: there are only three full stops in the whole poem (at the end of stanzas two, four and seven).
The gaps between the stanzas assist us in reading the poem aloud.
The lack of organisation (because of an absence of punctuation and irregular, inconsistent rhyme) could reflect a lack of stability in the life of the “hunchback”.
Sound of The Hunchback in the Park by Dylan Thomas
There is some rhyme (eg stanza one, first and last lines, “park/dark”; stanza four, lines one and three, “rockery/mockery”) and half rhyme (eg stanza one, lines two, three and five, “mister/water/enter”) but there is no regular pattern to it.
One could easily choose to read several lines together as there are examples of enjambment, eg:
While the boys among willows
Made the tigers jump out of their eyes
To roar on rockery stones
But despite this and the lack of punctuation, the poem makes you take things slowly.
Sound is mentioned in the poem as hostile.
The only spoken words are “Mister… Hey mister” as the children try to attract his attention to mock and laugh at him.
Imagery of The Hunchback in the Park by Dylan Thomas
The images in the poem evoke sympathy for the main character.
The first stanza contains information that sets the tone.
From the first line the hunchback is defined by his appearance, not by who he is or his name - and cruelly so.
It is almost certain that he is known locally as “The hunchback in the park”.
Line two tells us that he is “solitary”. We never discover his name - he is just “mister”.
The rest of the stanza tells us that he is in the park from “the opening of the garden lock” to the “bell at dark”. There are no people in sight here; no one is with him.
Bread and water were typically given to a prisoner: it is no coincidence that the hunchback is given the same in stanza two.
He is treated just like a prisoner because of his physical difference and thus he has been cast aside by society.
The image of the children filling the poor man’s cup with gravel and the description of them aping his hunched back are simple but powerful and so our sympathy for the main character grows.
In stanza two and again in the final stanza the hunchback is described as having a kennel like a dog - he is being treated as less than human.
Attitudes, themes and ideas of The Hunchback in the Park by Dylan Thomas
Attitudes and Ideas:
- The poet manages to make us feel great sympathy for this man who has been cast out from society through no fault of his own.
- It’s hard not to feel responsibility for the hunchback or even guilt after reading this poem.
Themes:
People, especially children, can be very cruel. There is not one example of the man going out of his way to be unkind or rude to anyone.
He gets annoyed and angry when the children tease him - which is exactly what they want.
This man is and looks different.
We get the sense that this is why he is alone in the park, not for anything he might have done. This is sad to think.
Morals. The final picture of the man - who is regarded as so worthless that we never know his name - retreating to his “kennel in the dark” is tragic, and provides a damning moral comment on society failing those who need care.
Example comparisons to The Hunchback in the Park by Dylan Thomas
The Ruined Maid:
- Life can be very cruel. Both central characters seem to end up in their situation out of necessity (though one could argue ‘Melia had more of a choice).
- Both poems suggest that it is a mistake to judge people simply by what they look like.
The hunchback might very well be a friendly man but he isn’t even given a chance simply because of his disability. ‘Melia’s former colleague is incredibly impressed by her appearance but doesn’t understand the cost behind it.
- Both poems suggest that society has a responsibility to look after people. ‘Melia seems a sparky, intelligent character who has been driven to prostitution because her prospects were so bleak. The hunchback obviously deserves care, not isolation and poverty.
Casehistory: Alison (head injury):
- Both deal with figures who are isolated in some way (though for very different reasons).
- Disability is central to both poems.
- Both warn against judging by appearances. Alison is not merely a set of notes (a “casehistory”); she has a past and distinct present.
- The term “hunchback” reflects that he is judged and known only by his appearance.
- Both central characters’ lives are, for different reasons, empty.
- A reader will certainly feel sympathy for both characters.
How does Dylan Thomas make us feel sorry for the central character in The Hunchback in the Park?
We never know the character’s name. He is only ever referred to by the horrible term “hunchback”. No one knows him well so everyone refers to him as “the hunchback in the park”. This is enough, immediately, to make us feel sorry for the character
In fact, the whole of the first stanza paints a tragic picture: The hunchback in the park A solitary mister Propped between trees and water From the opening of the garden lock That lets the trees and water enter Until the Sunday sombre bell at dark
“Solitary” tells us he is all alone, which is another reason for the reader to sympathise with the character. He doesn’t seem as if he’s there by choice or is engaging in any activity. He is merely “propped” there, like any inanimate object. The second half of the stanza shows that this is effectively where the character spends all his day. What kind of an existence is this?
The sad picture is developed in stanza two.
Eating bread from a newspaper
Drinking water from the chained cup
That the children filled with gravel
“Bread… water… chained” are all words one might associate with old-fashioned gaols. Although “free” in one sense, the hunchback is a prisoner in the park, in solitary confinement.
More sinister is the fact the children have gone out of their way to make life for the hunchback even more difficult by filling his cup with gravel rather than water for their amusement.
We might even feel anger towards them at this point, having developed an emotional attachment, sympathy and possibly affection for the central character.
Context of The Hunchback in the Park by Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) is probably the most famous Welsh poet of all time. This is both despite - and because of - his relatively short life, which was lived wildly, and characterised by alcoholism that eventually killed him.
His first book of poetry, 18 Poems, published in 1934, was a success and so he moved to London. He also started to drink heavily, a habit which eventually blighted the rest of his short life. Two years later he met Caitlin MacNamara and married her in 1937. They were well known for having a stormy relationship. In 1944 they moved from London to a small village called Laugharne in West Wales.
It was on his fourth and last trip to America in 1953 that he died after a prolonged drinking session. His body was brought back from New York to Laugharne where he was buried. When his wife died in 1994, she was buried with him.
