I am looking for an analysis of "The Hand That Signed the Paper" by Dylan Thomas.

The hand that signed the paper felled a city;
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath,
Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;
These five kings did a king to death.

Stanza One of the poem centers on a powerful 'hand' signing a treaty of sorts. Dylan Thomas, famous for his ambiguity in his poems, is silent on the circumstance that has made this action necessary. The 'five sovereign fingers' responsible for the treaty are like 'five kings'; their power is absolute. With one fell stroke, citizens are 'taxed' to pay for wars, the deaths of innocents are 'doubled' to globe-like proportions, a sovereign king pays with his life, and another country loses half of its citizens.

The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,
The finger joints are cramped with chalk;
A goose's quill has put an end to murder
That put an end to talk.

Stanza Two of the poem tells us that the 'mighty hand' instrumental in the signing of the treaty belongs to a 'sloping shoulder.' What's more, the 'finger joints are cramped with chalk.' This imagery of old age and decrepitude lends special irony to the idea that a 'goose's quill' can 'put an end to murder.' Perhaps, Thomas is implying that copious violence has previously 'put an end to talk,' or peaceful negotiations; this is why the treaty has been deemed necessary. However, the dissonant imagery of arthritic frailty ('The finger joints are crammed with chalk') illustrates a less assuring picture of reality. ('Chalk' possibly refers to calcium crystal deposits which cause extreme joint pain). In this stanza, Thomas utilizes alliteration ('sloping shoulder'; 'cramped with chalk') to emphasize the aura of impending death surrounding the signing of the treaty.

The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew, and locusts came;
Great is the hand that holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.

Stanza Three reveals the true results of the treaty. The harsh conditions of the contract have led to catastrophic sickness ('fever'), 'famine,' and infestations ('locusts'). Thomas utilizes the literary device of enjambment to lend import to the terrible imagery of the 'hand that holds dominion over / Man by a scribbled name.' With the clever use of enjambment, the word 'Man' is capitalized, signifying the far-reaching consequences of a treaty that will affect all of humanity.

The five kings count the dead but do not soften
The crusted wound nor pat the brow;
A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven;
Hands have no tears to flow.

Stanza Four is an indictment of the hand that 'rules pity as a hand that rules heaven.' Again, the metaphor of 'five kings' represents the five fingers of the hand that signed the treaty. This hand cannot cry ('no tears to flow'), so it cannot have pity on the dead. It also cannot comfort injured soldiers ('the crusted wound') or minimize the anxieties of those who suffer ('pat the brow'). The metaphorical idea of the hand as God ('as a hand rules heaven') lends a starkness to the last stanza: the hand that signed the treaty is a presumptuous hand. Not only has it usurped the place of Providence in human affairs, it also evinces no pity for those it has caused to suffer.

Last, but not least, the clever use of anaphora is significant in the first line of every stanza: 'The hand that signed the paper felled a city; / The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder, / The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever, / The five kings count the dead but do not soften.' Thomas situates the anaphoric lines at the head of every stanza instead of juxtaposing them next to each other; this cleverly reveals the significant and pervasive power of the hand.

Hope this helps!