 His main influence was the Romantic poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley, and themes of nature and religion dominated his work.His talent for poetry was well known in the village of Trawsfynydd, and he took part in numerous competitions and local eisteddfodau, winning his first chair (Cadair y Bardd) in Bala, 1907, at the age of 20.In 1910, he was given the bardic name Hedd Wyn (Welsh for "blessed peace"), a reference to the sun's rays penetrating the mists in the valleys of Meirionydd.