--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And death shall have no dominion. Dead…" description: "\"And death shall have no dominion. Dead men naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/dylan-thomas-1889_death_and-death-shall-have-no-dominion-dead-me_1066731.jpg" --- # And death shall have no dominion. Dead men naked they… ![“And death shall have no dominion. Dead men naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they go mad they shall be sane, Though they sink through the sea they shall…” quote by Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/dylan-thomas-1889_death_and-death-shall-have-no-dominion-dead-me_1066731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/dylan-thomas-1889_death_and-death-shall-have-no-dominion-dead-me_1066731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f8/dylan-thomas-1889_death_and-death-shall-have-no-dominion-dead-me_1066731.jpg) > “And death shall have no dominion. Dead men naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they go mad they shall be sane, Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion.” [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem asserts that death cannot ultimately dominate; the dead become part of a larger, enduring existence, transcending physical decay. **In simple terms:** Death does not end existence. Key Takeaway Embrace the continuity beyond death. Themes mortality spirituality eternity resilience hope Mood somber hopeful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - spiritual reflection - literary analysis - artistic inspiration Key Concepts Poetry Christian mysticism philosophical existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does “no dominion” mean to you? - How does this view affect coping with loss? A Different Perspective Interpretations may vary across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Lost love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/one-short-sleep-past-we-wake-eternally-and-death-shall-be-no-more/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [“But naked wasn’t something done around human pups—although he wanted to ask the men why naked from the waist up was all right for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bishop/but-naked-wasn-t-something-done-around-human-pups-although-he-wanted/) [Anne Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bishop/) > [Naked we came forth and naked we shall go from this world. Everything is a gift. We own nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-randymar/naked-we-came-forth-and-naked-we-shall-go-from-this-world-everything/) [Joel Randymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-randymar/) > [“Naked we were born, naked shall we return to grave. What then is the toil?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/naked-we-were-born-naked-shall-we-return-to-grave-what-then-is-the/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Naked I came into the world, naked I shall go out of it! And a very good thing too, for it reminds me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/naked-i-came-into-the-world-naked-i-shall-go-out-of-it-and-a-very/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [“They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they go mad they shall be sane, Though they sink through the sea they shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/they-shall-have-stars-at-elbow-and-foot-though-they-go-mad-they-shall/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Break in the sun till the sun breaks down, And death shall have no dominion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/break-in-the-sun-till-the-sun-breaks-down-and-death-shall-have-no/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [“Though lovers be lost, love shall not; And death shall have no dominion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/though-lovers-be-lost-love-shall-not-and-death-shall-have-no-dominion/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Though they go mad they shall be sane, though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; though lovers be lost love shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/though-they-go-mad-they-shall-be-sane-though-they-sink-through-the/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [And death shall have no dominion. Under the windings of the sea They lying long shall not die windily; Twisting on racks when sinews…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/and-death-shall-have-no-dominion-under-the-windings-of-the-sea-they/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [“There shall be no more death, Because we have already seen all that, Its old and we are tired of it, And now we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/there-shall-be-no-more-death-because-we-have-already-seen-all-that/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [If a man should wanton walk with crime ... he shall find in death no great deliverance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/if-a-man-should-wanton-walk-with-crime-he-shall-find-in-death-no/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Our hatred knows no bounds, and the war shall be to the death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-bolivar/our-hatred-knows-no-bounds-and-the-war-shall-be-to-the-death/) [Simon Bolivar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-bolivar/) > [“Not to marry, know love, or bind, their fate; Your line to die for never seed shall take. Death and torment to those caught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/not-to-marry-know-love-or-bind-their-fate-your-line-to-die-for-never/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [“For sure he deserved it. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin. From”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-becker/for-sure-he-deserved-it-every-man-shall-be-put-to-death-for-his-own/) Stephen Becker ## More by Dylan Thomas > [I liked the taste of beer, its live, white lather, its brass-bright depths, the sudden world through the wet-brown walls of the glass, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-liked-the-taste-of-beer-its-live-white-lather-its-brass-bright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [There is only one position for an artist anywhere; and that is upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/there-is-only-one-position-for-an-artist-anywhere-and-that-is-upright/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [“Thousands of miles,' I said. It's Rhosilli, USA. We're going to camp on a bit of rock that wobbles in the winds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/thousands-of-miles-i-said-it-s-rhosilli-usa-we-re-going-to-camp-on-a/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/one-christmas-was-so-much-like-another-in-those-years-around-the-sea/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-hold-a-beast-an-angel-and-a-madman-in-me-and-my-enquiry-is-as-to/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Youth calls to age across the tired years: 'What have you found,' he cries, 'what have you sought?" 'What have you found,' age answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/youth-calls-to-age-across-the-tired-years-what-have-you-found-he/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Do not go gentle into that goodnight, rage, rage against the dying of the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-goodnight-rage-rage-against-the-dying-of/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [To begin, at the beginning...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/to-begin-at-the-beginning/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [A born writer is born scrofulous; his career is an accident dictated by physical or circumstantial disabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/a-born-writer-is-born-scrofulous-his-career-is-an-accident-dictated/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Rhianon, he said, hold my hand, Rhianon. She did not hear him, but stood over his bed and fixed him with an unbroken sorrow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/rhianon-he-said-hold-my-hand-rhianon-she-did-not-hear-him-but-stood/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I know in London a Welsh hairdresser who has striven so vehemently to abolish his accent that he sounds like a man speaking with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-know-in-london-a-welsh-hairdresser-who-has-striven-so-vehemently-to/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Dark is a way and light is a place, Heaven that never was Nor will be ever is always true "Poem on His Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/dark-is-a-way-and-light-is-a-place-heaven-that-never-was-nor-will-be/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [And now, gentlemen, like your manners, I must leave you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/and-now-gentlemen-like-your-manners-i-must-leave-you/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [Now behind the eyes and secrets of the dreamers in the streets rocked to sleep by the sea, see the titbits and topsyturvies, bobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/now-behind-the-eyes-and-secrets-of-the-dreamers-in-the-streets-rocked/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [I believe in New Yorkers. Whether they’ve ever questioned the dream in which they live, I wouldn’t know, because I won’t ever dare ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-believe-in-new-yorkers-whether-they-ve-ever-questioned-the-dream-in/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) [Explore all 201 Dylan Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. 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Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. 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