"Never until the mankind making / Bird beast and flower / Fathering and all humbling darkness"
The title of this poem implies a steadfast refusal by the speaker to give in to the emotional duress of the subject. The title defiantly posits the speaker's intent to resist giving in to the overwhelming emotions that establish a sense of grief and mourning. That this title will prove ironic begins with these opening lines. The language immediately sets a tone of apocalyptic tragedy. The speaker is right from the start asserting an intention to avoid becoming overly emotional with language that conveys he is barely able to contain that feeling of devastation. The opening imagery is steeped in the idea of the cosmic creation of the world. This raises the question of why such profound symbolism is being used to describe the death of a child that shall not be mourned. The mourning actually begins right at the start of the poem.
"The majesty and burning of the child's death."
These are the opening lines of the third stanza. The title character of the poem is not actually introduced until this point, which is thirteen lines into the verse. The circumstances of the death of the child are only alluded to in the text. These circumstances would have been immediately apparent to readers at the time of publication. The "majesty" of the fiery demise of the child is an allusion to the bombs falling onto London at the height of the terrorist attacks against civilians–including children–by Nazi Germany during World War II. The speaker is continuing to insist that this death shall not be mourned. Once again, the inherent irony of the title is illustrated by the decision of the speaker to endow the horrific circumstance with a kind of glory in the description of its majestic quality.
"After the first death, there is no other."
The final line of the poem encapsulates the religious imagery which has permeated the verse and establishes its theme of death being part of a cycle of life rather than an ending. The first death being referenced here is the literal termination of bodily functions. Religious imagery throughout has been engaged as a means of suggesting that the child's death need not be mourned because it is not really an end. The speaker is convinced that the soul continues on after the death of the body. There is no death for the soul. This spirit will continue to live through eternity.
