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Learning resources

How can poetry be used to inspire art? Ceri Richards and Dylan Thomas

'Do not go gentle into that good night'
© estate of Ceri Richards. All rights reserved, DACS 2023. Photo credit: Tate

'Do not go gentle into that good night' 1956

Ceri Giraldus Richards (1903–1971)

Tate

About this resource

How is poetry used as a source of ideas and inspiration for artists?

This resource explores how Welsh artist Ceri Richards used the ideas, imagery and emotions in Dylan Thomas's poetry as inspiration for his paintings.

The resource also includes examples of artworks by other artists who have been inspired by poetry.

Use the resource to:

  • analyse poems by Dylan Thomas and explore how they inspired Ceri Richards
  • find ideas for researching, planning and developing an artwork in response to Dylan Thomas's poetry
  • discover a range of artworks by other artists who have used poetry as inspiration

The resource offers opportunities for cross-curricular study across English and Art & Design. Extended analysis notes are included for using this for lesson planning within an English class. The resource is aimed at KS 4 students, but could also be used for upper-level KS 3 students and for students aged 16+.

Curriculum links

Art and design

- Evaluate and analyse creative works
- Actively engage in the creative process of art
- Know about great artists and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms
- Produce creative work, explore ideas

English

Reading

Reading Pupils should be taught to:

read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage through:
- reading a wide range of high-quality, challenging, classic literature. The range should include works from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries; poetry since 1789.

understand and critically evaluate texts through:
- reading in different ways for different purposes, summarising and synthesising ideas and information, and evaluating their usefulness for particular purposes
- drawing on knowledge of the purpose, audience for and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation 
- identifying and interpreting themes, ideas and information
- seeking evidence in the text to support a point of view, including justifying inferences with evidence
- distinguishing between statements that are supported by evidence and those that are not, and identifying bias and misuse of evidence
- analysing a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact
- make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.

Grammar and vocabulary

Pupils should be taught to:

consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:

- studying their effectiveness and impact in the texts they read
- drawing on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects
- analysing some of the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English
- using linguistic and literary terminology accurately and confidently in discussing reading, writing and spoken language.

Art and design

KS 4
- Develop ideas through investigations, demonstrating a critical understanding of sources
- Refine work by exploring ideas, selecting and experimenting with appropriate media, materials, techniques and processes
- Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions as work progresses
- Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and demonstrates an understanding of visual language

English literature

KS 4

Students should be able to:

- read and understand poetry
- respond to poems critically and imaginatively
- select and evaluate relevant textual material
- use details from poems to illustrate interpretations
- explain and evaluate the ways in which the poets express meaning and achieve effects
- relate the poems to their social, cultural and historical contexts

English Language

Speaking and listening

Students should be able to:
- communicate clearly and effectively
- present information and ideas
- use standard English as appropriate
- structure and sustain talk
- choose and adapt language appropriate to an audience
- respond appropriately to questions and views of others

- interact with others
- make a range of effective contributions
- express ideas clearly, accurately and appropriately
- listen and respond to others' ideas and perspectives
- challenge what they hear where appropriate and shape meaning through asking questions and making comments and suggestions

Studying spoken and written language

Students should be able to:
- understand the characteristics of spoken language
- understand influences on spoken language choices
- explore the impact of spoken language choices
- understand how language varies in different contexts;
- read and understand texts
- understand how meaning is constructed
- recognise the effect of language choices and patterns
- evaluate how texts may be interpreted differently depending on the reader's perspective
- explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic and presentational features to sustain the reader's interest

Reading Literary and Non-fiction Texts

Students should be able to:
- read and understand texts
- understand how meaning is constructed
- recognise the effect of language choices and patterns
- select material appropriate to purpose
- evaluate how texts may be interpreted differently depending on the reader's perspective
- explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic and presentational features to sustain the reader's interest.

Art and design

Level 4
- I have continued to experiment with a range of media and technologies, handling them with control and assurance to create images and objects. I can apply my understanding of the properties of media and of techniques to specific tasks (EXA 4-02a)
- I can use the visual elements and concepts with sensitivity to express qualities and relationships and convey information, thoughts and feelings. I can use my skills and creativity to generate original ideas in my expressive and design work (EXA 4-03a)
- Having chosen personal themes and developed my own ideas from a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through 2D and 3D work (EXA 4-05a)
- I can analyse art and design techniques, processes and concepts, make informed judgements and express considered opinions on my own and others' work (EXA 4-07a)

Literacy and English

Listening and talking

- When I engage with others I can make a relevant contribution, ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute and encourage them to take account of others' points of view or alternative solutions. I can respond in ways appropriate to my role, exploring and expanding on contributions to reflect on, clarify or adapt thinking (LIT 4-02a)
- As I listen or watch, I can clearly state the purpose and main concerns of a text and make inferences from key statements; compare and contrast different types of text; gather, link and use information from different sources and use this for different purposes (LIT 4-04a)
- As I listen or watch, I can make notes and organise these to develop thinking, help retain and recall information, explore issues and create new texts, using my own words as appropriate (LIT 3-05a / LIT 4-05a)
- I can show my understanding of what I listen to or watch by giving detailed, evaluative comments, with evidence, about the content and form of short and extended texts (LIT 4-07a)
- When listening and talking with others for different purposes, I can: communicate detailed information, ideas or opinions; explain processes, concepts or ideas with some relevant supporting detail; sum up ideas, issues, findings or conclusions (LIT 4-09a)

Reading

- Through developing my knowledge of context clues, punctuation, grammar and layout, I can read unfamiliar texts with increasing fluency, understanding and expression (ENG 2-12a / ENG 3-12a / ENG 4-12a)
- I can make notes and organise them to develop my thinking, help retain and recall information, explore issues and create new texts, using my own words as appropriate (LIT 3-15a / LIT 4-15a)
- To show my understanding, I can give detailed, evaluative comments, with evidence, on the content and form of short and extended texts, and respond to different kinds of questions and other types of close reading tasks (ENG 4-17a)
- I can: discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of structure, characterisation and/or setting using some supporting evidence; identify how the writer's main theme or central concerns are revealed and can recognise how they relate to my own and others' experiences; identify and make a personal evaluation of the effect of aspects of the writer's style and other features appropriate to genre using some relevant evidence and terminology (ENG 4-19a)

Art and design
- Students use their knowledge about the work of other artists to enrich and inform their work through analysis and evaluation
- Students use a variety of processes
- Students evaluate their work through discussion
- Students explore, experiment with and apply the visual, tactile and sensory language of art

English

Oracy

Learners should be given opportunities to:

- respond orally to continuous and non-continuous texts
- respond orally to a variety of stimuli and ideas, including written and dynamic texts, e.g. paintings, music, film, still and moving images 
- communicate for a range of purposes, e.g. recount and present information, instruct, argue and explain a point of view, discuss an issue, persuade, question and explore interpretations, convey feelings
- speak and listen individually, in pairs, in groups and as members of a class
- present, talk and perform in formal and informal contexts and for a variety of audiences including teachers and peers
- engage in activities that focus on words, their derivation, meanings, choice and impact
- listen and view attentively, responding to a wide range of communication, e.g. written and dynamic texts, theatre and poetry performance, visiting speakers, explanations, instructions
- speak clearly, using intonation and emphasis appropriately, e.g. recitation, oral storytelling
- use appropriate vocabulary suitable for the situation or purpose
- use appropriate vocabulary and terminology to discuss, consider and evaluate their own work and that of others, e.g. authors, peers

Reading

Learners should be given opportunities to:
- read a wide range of continuous and non-continuous texts, in printed and dynamic format, as a basis for oral and written responses. These should include:

- extracts and complete texts
- traditional and contemporary poetry and prose
- texts written by Welsh authors, texts with a Welsh dimension and texts from other cultures
- texts that have challenging subject matter, which broaden perspectives and extend thinking – texts with a variety of structures, forms, purposes, intended audiences and presentational devices
- texts that demonstrate quality and variety in language use
- texts with a variety of social, historical and cultural contexts
- texts that extend learners’ intellectual, moral and emotional understanding
- texts with a variety of tone, e.g. irony, parody, word play, innuendo and satire

- read individually and collaboratively, e.g. paired reading, guided group reading, shared reading
- read for different purposes, e.g. for personal pleasure; to retrieve, summarise and synthesise key information; to interpret and integrate information; to verify information; to deepen understanding through re-reading; to identify language devices used by the writer to analyse purpose; to identify alternative readings of a text
- develop appropriate vocabulary and terminology to discuss, consider and evaluate their own work and that of others, e.g. authors, poets, peers, in written and dynamic texts.

Expressive Arts

Exploring the expressive arts is essential to developing artistic skills and knowledge and it enables learners to become curious and creative individuals.

Progression step 5:

I can explore and experiment with my own creative ideas and those of others, demonstrating technical control, innovation, independent thinking and originality, showing confidence to take risks and developing resilience in order to overcome creative challenges.

I can investigate and analyse how creative work is used to represent and celebrate personal, social and cultural identities.

I can independently research the purpose and meaning of a wide range of creative work and consider how they can impact on different audiences.

 

Responding and reflecting, both as artist and audience, is a fundamental part of learning in the expressive arts. 

Progression step 5:

I can critically and thoughtfully respond to and analyse the opinion and creative influences of others in order to independently shape and develop my own creative work.

I can purposefully apply knowledge and understanding of context when evaluating my own creative work and creative work by other people and from other places and times.

I can critically evaluate the way artists use discipline-specific skills and techniques to create and communicate ideas. 

 

Creating combines skills and knowledge, drawing on the senses, inspiration and imagination.

Progression step 5:

I can synthesise and apply experience, knowledge and understanding with sophistication and intent when communicating my ideas.

I can use professionally established, discipline-specific techniques confidently and convincingly in my creative work and work towards industry standard.

I can design creative outcomes to professional and industry-standard with sophistication, clear purpose and intent.

I can use effective strategies to take risks with my own creative work and can display resilience to overcome creative challenges.

I can evaluate and judge the appropriateness of my creative work in relation to ethical and legal considerations and its effect on participants and audiences.

 

Languages, literacy and communication

Understanding languages is key to understanding the world around us

Progression step 5:

I can listen empathetically, respecting different people’s perspectives and can critically evaluate them to arrive at my own considered conclusions.

I can employ a range of strategies to recognise and predict the meaning across a wide range of texts and from this enhance my own expression and communication.

I can use inference and deduction to gain in-depth understanding of complex texts, and can evaluate the reliability, validity and impact of what I read.

I can use my knowledge of word construction, grammar, including syntax, and text organisation to support my understanding of what I hear and read.

I can read empathetically to respect and critically evaluate different people’s perspectives, using them to arrive at my own considered conclusions.

I can listen and read to build an extensive range of general and specific vocabulary, and I can use them with precision in different contexts.

 

Expressing ourselves through languages is key to communication

Progression step 5:

I can convey meaning convincingly in a range of contexts so that the audience is fully engaged.

I can make informed choices about vocabulary and grammar to enhance my communication skills

I can reflect critically on my use of language and can consider the effects of my spoken, written and visual communication objectively.

I can evaluate and respond critically to what I have heard, read or seen.

 

Literature fires imagination and inspires creativity

Progression step 5:

I can engage with a wide range of literary genres in depth in order to explore and craft my own work.

I can experiment with and craft my own literature.

I can critically evaluate key concepts and the impact of language choices and techniques on the reader/viewer using an assured selection of relevant textual detail.

I can appreciate literature, showing empathy when evaluating different interpretations of literature, including my own.

Teachers notes: a bit of background

Who is Ceri Richards?

Ceri Richards (1903–1971) was born in Dunvant near Swansea, into a highly cultured working-class family. His father, a tin-plate worker, was also a musician and choir leader, and music as well as poetry and nature would be an important influence on the young Ceri Richards. He studied at Swansea College of Art and in 1923 won a scholarship to study at the Royal College of Art in London. 

Girl at Piano

Girl at Piano 1949

Ceri Giraldus Richards (1903–1971)

Southampton City Art Gallery

By the 1930s Richards was one of the most experimental young British painters around with the style and imagery of his paintings reflecting his interest in Surrealism. He exhibited in the 1936 London International Surrealist Exhibition and said that Surrealism helped him 'to be aware of the mystery, even the '"unreality", of ordinary things'.

Richards was a frequent co-exhibitor with Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, John Piper and Graham Sutherland, and represented Britain in the 1962 Venice Biennale.

Ceri Richards and Dylan Thomas

Although Ceri Richards spent most of his life in London after graduating from the Royal College of Art, he took inspiration from Welsh culture and was a great admirer of Dylan Thomas's poems, making a number of paintings and prints inspired by them over the years. 

The two met only once, however, in 1953 when Richards travelled to Thomas's home, The Boat House, in Laugharne where the poet and painter got on well. Dylan Thomas died soon afterwards and, on hearing of his death, Ceri Richards created a series of drawings based on Thomas's Collected Poems. Many of these drawings reappeared in the suite of Twelve Lithographs for Six Poems that Richards produced in 1965 – his ultimate tribute to Thomas.

Listen to: Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

In this video, contemporary poet Benjamin Zephaniah reads Dylan Thomas's poem Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.

Watch it as a class and ask students to discuss their first impressions of the poem. They don't need to attempt to interpret it yet but encourage them to think about the atmosphere it evokes and its sounds and rhythms.

To garner first impressions, it might help to ask students to think of words that describe the mood of the poem and how it makes them feel.

Discussion: look more closely and analyse the poem

Look at and discuss the first stanza of the poem together as a class.

'Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'

Discussion prompts:

  • The poem talks about night and day – what do you think these might be metaphors for?
  • Dylan Thomas seems to be addressing someone in the poem – what is he asking them to do (and not do?) and what do you think is meant by this?
  • Look at the first and last lines of the stanza. Can you see any contrasting words and images?

You could also look at the meter (rhythm) and structure of the poem.

  • How many syllables are there in each line?
  • Which words are repeated – what is the effect of this repetition?
  • Do any of the words rhyme?
  • How does this affect the overall sound and rhythm of the poem?

Analysis thoughts

  • Dylan Thomas uses 'daytime' and 'light' as metaphors for life. While 'night' and 'close of the day' are used as a metaphor for death.
  • He is pleading with someone not to leave and quietly go into the night but to 'rage' against it and stay.
  • The word 'gentle' in the first line contrasts with 'rage' in the last line. And 'night' contrasts with 'day'.
  • Each line has ten syllables giving the sound of the poem a consistent rhythm. The last words in lines one and three rhyme which creates a chant-like sense of repetition.

Thomas was interested in the sound of words as much as the meaning.

'I wanted to write poetry in the beginning because I had fallen in love with words. The first poems I knew were nursery rhymes and before I could read them for myself I had come to love the words of them. The words alone.'
– Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas 1948

John Gay (1909–1999)

National Portrait Gallery, London

Activity task: Individual / small group discussion

Working in pairs or small groups, task students with analysing the rest of the poem by looking at each stanza in turn.

Provide each pair or group with a paper copy of the poem that they can annotate with notes.

See the whole poem: Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

They could note for example:

  • what they think each stanza is about
  • who they think the poem is addressing
  • how Dylan Thomas uses figurative language (such as alliteration, similes metaphors, and oxymorons) to convey ideas and feelings
  • imagery that they find particularly powerful
  • thoughts about the structure of the stanzas and the meter of the poem. (How are they organized? How many synonyms does each line have? Which words rhyme? Are any words repeated?)

Once students have analysed the poem, ask them to share their analysis and thoughts about the poem with the rest of the class.

About the poem

In Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Dylan Thomas pleads with his elderly, dying father not to accept death and slip away gently but to rage against it. He uses examples of wise, good, wild men and grave men who refuse to 'go gently'.

  • The wise men know that death is inevitable because they are not immortal like gods (who can 'split the sky with lightening')
  • The good men remember sadly the things they achieved in their lives (that 'danced in a green bay')
  • The wild men are described as vital and strong
  • The grave men, although near death, still have a zest for life 'with meteors in their eyes'

Figurative language

Thomas uses figurative language including metaphors ('Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay'); similes ('Blind eyes could blaze like meteors'); oxymorons ('blinding sight'); and alliteration ('sang the sun').

Structure and meter

The six stanzas of the poem each have three lines. All the lines except one have ten syllables. This gives the poem an insistent rhythm. His use of rhyme and repetition of words and lines add to this rhythm. There are only two rhymes throughout the poem ('bright', 'light', 'sight', etc. and 'day', 'they', 'bay', etc.) with the first and last line of each stanza rhyming. The first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated alternately as the last line of each of the following stanzas.

The repetition of words, rhyming and chant-like rhythm of the poem could perhaps be compared to the spoken word of contemporary rap musicians.

Find out more

This resource provides further ideas for exploring the poem with your students. It includes a Powerpoint presentation with more in-depth interpretation thoughts about each stanza which may be helpful in discussing the poem.

Dylan Thomas: Bardd Roc a Rol / Rock and Roll Poet

Class discussion: Ceri Richards

Ceri Richards created this painting as a response to Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.

'Do not go gentle into that good night'

'Do not go gentle into that good night' 1956

Ceri Giraldus Richards (1903–1971)

Tate

Discuss the painting as a class. Encourage students to think about the imagery and techniques that Ceri Richards has used to convey the meaning and emotion of Thomas's poem and whether they think he has been successful in this.

Use the discussion prompts below if helpful.

  • What are your first impressions of the painting? (Describe what it looks like and how the painting makes you feel.)
  • Who do you think the figure represents? Why do you think it appears to be tumbling?
  • What do you think the owl represents? What is it holding?
  • Do you think the painting expresses the mood and feeling of Dylan Thomas's words?
  • How has Ceri Richards used colour, shapes, lines and marks to do this?
  • If you were going to make an artwork inspired by the poem, how would you approach it? Is there any imagery that you would include from the poem that Ceri Richards hasn't?

Painting thoughts

The painting isn't simply an illustration of the poem. Just as Dylan Thomas has used symbolism to suggest meaning in his poetry, Ceri Thomas has used symbolism in his painting.

The figure tumbling through darkness looks elderly with sagging skin, a visible rib cage and large hands and feet at the end of stick-thin arms and legs. Ceri Richards has said that the figure doesn't specifically represent his father, but is supposed to be symbolic of man or humankind generally. 

There is no owl in Dylan Thomas's poem, but owls are often used as symbols of wisdom and death. The owl is holding a shroud, pulling it away from the figure to reveal its vulnerability and mortality. (In another pen-and-ink version of this artwork – see below – Ceri Richards has added text to the shroud suggesting that it might be a manuscript that the owl carries away as if it is no longer of use to the poet.)

The composition is bold and simple, with the abstracted, rather cartoon-like figure, owl and shroud filling the space frame and placed against a simple horizon line of sea and sky. The sea and sky symbolise the elements that the figure will merge with and from which he originated.

The shapes of the figure and shroud are spiky and awkward, and the bold colours of the painting seem stark, echoing the painful raw emotions that Thomas conveys in his poem.

A Poet's Ciphers

A Poet's Ciphers 1954–1957

Ceri Giraldus Richards (1903–1971)

Aberystwyth University School of Art Museum and Galleries

The forces of nature

The forces of nature and its cycles of birth, growth and death are themes that Dylan Thomas and Ceri Richards both returned to again and again.

Ceri Richards: Cycle of Nature, Arabesque I

At first glance, this painting by Ceri Richards looks like an abstract arrangement of organic shapes and colours. But if you look closely the shapes provide clues about the painting's meaning.

Cycle of Nature, Arabesque I

Cycle of Nature, Arabesque I 1964

Ceri Giraldus Richards (1903–1971)

National Galleries of Scotland

The abstracted shapes look like plant or flower forms. In the centre of the painting is a pod-like shape full of seeds. The colours of the painting echo this sense of the natural world with an earth-coloured background and blues and greens. The strong yellow at the centre suggests the glow of the life-giving sun.

But the organic shapes could also be the body, arms and legs of a figure. If you look closely at the black scribbly outline on the right of the painting, you will see that it is a skull.

By morphing organic, plant-like forms with a human figure and skull, Ceri Richards suggests that humans are part of the cycle of nature and birth, growth or life, and death.

Dylan Thomas: The force that through the green fuse drives the flower

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower was written by Dylan Thomas when he was 19 years old. Like many of his poems, its rich and textured language is presented in tumbling layers of sometimes confusing imagery. 

The first three lines of the poem contrast the creative and destructive forces that surround man and suggest the power and force of the natural world. He compares the green stem of a flower to a fuse, a powerful metaphor that suggests an explosion of energy. These themes are repeated throughout the poem.

'The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.'

Read the poem in full

Discussion: look closer and analyse the poem

Read and discuss the poem as a class. Encourage students to think about the rich imagery of the poem and make it clear that there are many possible interpretations, especially for the more complicated ideas in the poem.

Discussion prompts

  • What imagery comes into your mind when you read the poem? (You could ask students to pick out imagery that they find particularly powerful.)
  • What are your initial thoughts about the rhythm and pace of the poem? Is it a fast-paced ferocious poem or a quiet gentle one? (You could compare the pace of the poem with that of Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.)
  • What do you think the poem is about?
  • Can you find any references to nature, birth and growth and sickness and death?
  • Water is also a recurring theme in the poem. Can you spot these references? Why do you think Thomas emphasises water?

About the poem

In the poem, Dylan Thomas talks of creation and destruction as part of the same process both for nature and man. 

Some interpretations of the poem suggest that as well as being about nature and its cycles, the poem is also about creativity and expresses Thomas's frustration at not being able to adequately reflect the power of nature in words (in the poem, Dylan Thomas says he is 'dumb' or not able to respond).

The structure, rhythms and pace of the poem echo the poem's meaning with a forceful, passionate cascading of words.

See an in-depth analysis of the poem here:

Encyclopedia.com: The force that through the green fuse drives the flower

Activity: plan an artwork inspired by Dylan Thomas

Task students with using Dylan Thomas's poem The force that through the green fuse drives the flower as the starting point for a painting, mixed media artwork or collage.

Their artwork should be a response to the imagery within the poem and express any ideas, thoughts and feelings that the poem inspires.

Students should gather ideas and source material and plan the artwork using notes and annotated sketches.

This could be a classwork or homework sketchbook project and will help students in their planning and research skills, as well as experience in developing ideas for an artwork.

Students might find these notes helpful in approaching this task.

1. First thoughts

Read the poem again along with any interpretation notes you made while discussing the poem in class.

  • In your sketchbook note down imagery that you find particularly powerful or inspiring.
  • You could also make notes about your response to the poem – what it makes you think and feel – these could be single words that express your response.

2. Research primary source material

Research primary source material for your artwork. You could gather photographs or make drawings to inspire the imagery that you plan to include in your artwork, e.g. plant forms or aspects of nature.

The Village I

The Village I 2007

Erin Burns (b.1969)

Great Ormond Street Hospital

3. Research secondary source material

For ideas and inspiration, research artworks that deal with similar themes.

Ceri Richards returned to the theme of nature again and again and made paintings specifically inspired by The Force that through the green fuse... These combine abstracted human and animal figures and paint forms in frenzied whirling compositions.

The Force that through the Green Fuse: The Source

The Force that through the Green Fuse: The Source 1945

Ceri Giraldus Richards (1903–1971)

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery

Explore works by other artists who explore nature and the power of nature.

Browse the slideshow below or search Art UK for more ideas. You could try search terms such as 'nature', 'cycle of nature', 'water' and/or 'force'.

Search Art UK

  •
    Pollination 19 2010 Cara Enteles (b.1965)
  • Lotus Sketch 2015 Jiao Ye
  • Love Bomb 2006 Marc Quinn (b.1964)
  • Throb 2017 George Ridgway (b.1992)
  • Growth 2014 Melanie Jackson (b.1976)
  • Collage 4 1957 Robyn Denny (1930–2014)
  • Thorn Tree 1945–1946 Graham Vivian Sutherland (1903–1980)
  • Waterfall 1943 Arshile Gorky (1904–1948)
  • Chronicle of Orange 2007 Elizabeth Magill (b.1959)
  • Hope Bay 2019 Julie Cockburn (b.1966)
  • Study No. 4 for 'Painting with Two Verticals' 2004 Bridget Riley (b.1931)
  • Vegetative Spirit 2011 Christine Rodrigues (b.1951)

4. Plan your composition

Once you have gathered primary and secondary source material to inspire ideas and imagery, think about how you might use this in your artwork.

How will you arrange it within the composition? It could be a single form that dominates the composition...

Abstract Landscape Study*

Abstract Landscape Study* 1970

Clive Kidder (b.1930)

Valence House Museum

... or a more complicated composition of intertwining and layered imagery.  

Fog is an Urban Experience

Fog is an Urban Experience c.2007

Will Alsop (1947–2018)

Royal Academy of Arts
 

Make thumbnail sketches with different possible compositions. (Thumbnail sketches are small, quick sketches artists make when they want to try out different ideas.)

Ink Study*

Ink Study* late 1960s

Clive Kidder (b.1930)

Valence House Museum

5. Technique and colour

Think about your response to the poem. How did it make you feel and how you can put this across in your artwork using colour and technique?

  • What sort of colours will express your feelings? You might decide to use a small range of dark, sombre colours or bright bold colours to reflect the emotions and power of the poem.
  • How can you use marks or collage materials to express your response to the poem?
  • You might also consider adding text to your work to reflect the poetry source and your response to it.

'Dedication of a Mirror'

'Dedication of a Mirror' (from 'Poems from Greek Anthology') 1965

Grace Gardner (1920–2013)

Falmouth Art Gallery

Browse this Curation for more text art ideas

6. Create a larger final sketch

Once you have a rough sketch that you are happy with and have thought about the colours and techniques you are going to use, create a larger, more finished sketch for your artwork.

This could be in your sketchbook or on a separate piece of paper.

Annotate the sketch explaining your ideas.

Sketch after Francisco Goya's 'Duel with Cudgels'

Sketch after Francisco Goya's 'Duel with Cudgels' 1995

Sarah Simblet (b.1972)

Royal Academy of Arts

Activity: artwork presentation

Ask students to present their ideas to the rest of the class.

This process helps to clarify ideas by putting them into words. It is also a good opportunity for students to practice language skills and for students to assess and respond to each other's work.

  • They could start by talking about their responses to the poem (what it made them think and feel, what they liked or disliked about it, the imagery that particularly inspired them, etc.).
  • They could then present their sketchbooks with research materials and ideas.
  • Encourage others in the group to respond to the projects with helpful feedback and suggestions.

Once students have a strong idea for their artwork, task them with using their development work (source material, sketches and notes) to create a finished artwork.

Other outcomes

This activity is written with a painting or mixed-media outcome in mind, but the poem and development activity could also be used for an outcome in another medium such as a print, a textile design or a digital animation.

Abstract Shapes with a Lionesque Head*

Abstract Shapes with a Lionesque Head* 1920–1960

Madge Gill (1882–1961)

London Borough of Newham Heritage Service

More art inspired by poetry

Explore other artists and artworks inspired by poets and poems.

David Annand and William Soutar

Poets and authors and the words they write have often been an inspiration for Scottish artist David Annand. He was particularly inspired by the poet William Soutar, and his 1992 sculpture 'Nae Day Sae Dark' is titled after a poem by Soutar. 

'Nae Day Sae Dark'

'Nae Day Sae Dark' 1992

David Annand (b.1948)

High Street, Perth, Perth and Kinross

 

Pre-Raphaelite painters, Lord Alfred Tennyson and John Keats

Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott was a popular subject among Pre-Raphaelite artists. John William Waterhouse's painting manages to capture both the story and the tragic mood of the poem.

The Lady of Shalott

The Lady of Shalott 1888

John William Waterhouse (1849–1917)

Tate

Tennyson and the Pre-Raphaelites were inspired by legends and themes from the Medieval period. In 1857 an edition of Tennyson's poems was published with illustrations by John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt. 

John Keats's narrative poem Isabella, or the Pot of Basil also inspired many Pre-Raphaelite painters: Hunt, Waterhouse and Millais all captured scenes from the epic in paintings. 

Isabella and the Pot of Basil

Isabella and the Pot of Basil 1867

William Holman Hunt (1827–1910)

Laing Art Gallery

 

William Blake and Dante Alighieri

As an artist as well as a poet, William Blake created illustrations to accompany his own poetry.

He also illustrated the work of other writers and poets including the most important poet of the Middle Ages, Dante Alighieri.

Dante Alighieri (c.1265–1321)

Dante Alighieri (c.1265–1321) c.1800

William Blake (1757–1827)

Manchester Art Gallery

 

Artworks inspired by poetry

See more artworks inspired by poetry to explore with your students.

  •
    'Tyger, Tyger' 1997 Judy Willoughby (b.1949)
  • We Two Boys Together Clinging 1961 David Hockney (b.1937)
  • Now listen to the story of Baby Mahua... 2000 Abdus Shakoor Shah (b.1946)
  • Scratch Painting: Eliot's Wasteland 1994 Des Lawrence (b.1969)
  • Nae Mair 2007 Mike McDonnell (b.1939)
  • If Not, Not 1975–1976 R. B. Kitaj (1932–2007)
  • The Blue Cloud 1996 John Walker (b.1939)
  • Calligraphic Panel early 19th C Mahmud ibn 'Abd al-Hamid Khan (active 1906–1907)
  • Ship of Fools c.1972 Peter de Francia (1921–2012)

Related Art UK resources

Use art to inspire poetry and creative writing (secondary students)
Poetry, art and landscape (secondary students)
Art UK Home School: pop-up crime scene collage (secondary students)
Words into Art: Ian Hamilton Finlay's visual poetry (primary students)
Lewis Caroll's characters (primary students)

Find out more

Llenyddiaeth Cymru / Literature Wales: Dylan Day resources
Canolfan Dylan Thomas Centre: activities and resources
British Council: Dylan Thomas education pack
BBC: Dylan Thomas resources
Martin Tinney Gallery: Ceri Richards

Stories

  • William Blake
    The Romantic poets in art 21 March 2019, Lydia Figes
  • Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
    Tennyson: the favoured subject 6 October 2016, Thomas Marks
  • The Poetic Stoker
    Was Cummings a Cubist? Uncovering the paintings that inspired great poetry 21 September 2017, Molly Tresadern
  • Satan Calling Up His Legions
    William Blake: fusing the classical figure, mythology and religion 15 November 2016, Florence Bell
  • No Cover Up
    A Life in Protest: Jackie Kay's response to Ingrid Pollard at Glasgow Women's Library 12 April 2022, Jackie Kay
  • The Globe Theatre, with the Thames and St Paul's Cathedral
    The art of the Bard: seven paintings inspired by Shakespeare 21 April 2017, Molly Tresadern

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