The best of Thomas's poetic works can be found in his Collected Poems, published in 1971.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog and Adventures in the Skin Trade and Other Stories are Thomas's two works of fiction, which draw more from his chaotic life than does his poetry.

Ralph Maud, a very keen-eyed and easy to read literary critic, published Entrances to Dylan Thomas' Poetry in 1963. The book gives the general reader a good start at understanding the poems, stories, and plays as well as Thomas himself, focusing on the creative works.

In The Denial of Death, psychologist Ernest Becker explains human behavior in terms of fear of death. The narrator of this poem would be seen in Becker's analysis as being panicked when faced with a death so close to his life.