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A « Great War Poet » T2W1 A « Great War poet » Read this biography of Edward thomas and match a picture with a paragraph. 1. Philip Edward Thomas was an Anglo-Welsh writer of prose and poetry. He is commonly considered as a war poet, although few of his poems deal direcly with his war experiences. 2. Edward Thomas was born in London, England in 1878. He attended Lincoln College at Oxford. He married Helen while still an undergraduate. They had a son and two daughters. 3. Thomas worked as a book reviewer (literary critic), reviewing up to 15 books every week. Between 1897 and 1917, he published thirty books and edited sixteen anthologies. He had already written a novel when he began to write poems in the autumn of 1914. 4. Writing poems was a way to deal with the anxiety he felt over wether or not to enlist to go to war. Indeed World War I had started (for Britain) at the beginning of August, 1914. He finally enlisted in the army in July 1915, and was killed by a shell blast during the Battle of Arras (north of France) on Easter Monday, 9 April 1917. Thomas is buried in the Military cemetery at Agny, France (Row C, Grave 43). 5. Edward Thomas is commemorated in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey in London. Indeed on 11 November 1985, Thomas was among sixteen Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner. T2W1 (bis) Help !!! although: bien que whether = if while : alors que (ici simultanéité) among : parmi Now find the meaning of : few = to enlist : to attend a school = Easter : an undergraduate : to be buried : a novel : a slate stone : World War I = …....................................... ******************************************************************************* For those who want to choose « Adlestrop » at the History of Art exam... MORE INFOMATION « Adlestrop » was written in 1917 and it was published after Thomas's death : it is a posthumous poem. In this poem, Thomas remembers a train trip that did take place on June 24th, 1914. Edward Thomas belonged to a group of poets called the « Georgians » or Georgian poets. They took the name of the new King, George V (who came to throne in 1910). The « Georgians » had a tragic destiny as they became in a few years the War Poets. Edward Thomas's poetry also belongs to « Imagist » poetry. « Imagist » poetry consists in trying to isolate in a short poem a significant moment from the flow of life, to crystallize a fleeting experience with an emphasis on its visual aspects, without any moral or reflection attached . Edward Thomas's poetry shows an accurate awareness of the natural world; he portrayed the natural world as intensely beautiful and rich, but was aware that it was all just temporary. His poetry is the perfect combination of beauty and reality . At the time he was writing his poetry WWI had already begun (Indeed Thomas started to write poetry in 1914). T2W2 AT HOME 1: Read Edward Thomas's biography (on T1W1) and answer the following questions (write long answers) a) Where were Thomas's parents from ? …............................................................................................ b) Who was Helen ? …............................................................................................. c) How many children did he have ? …............................................................................................. d) When did he begin to write poems ? …............................................................................................. e) How many novels did he write ? …............................................................................................. f) When and where did he die ? …............................................................................................. g) Where was/is he buried ? …............................................................................................. h) What happened in August 1914 ? …............................................................................................. AND NOW… THINK ! Le Preterit Simple (Grammar Book nb30 p159-160) Observez les énoncés : a. Edward Thomas was a « Great War Poet ». e. Thomas attended Lincoln College. b. Where were his parents from ? f. Thomas wrote one novel. c. How many children did he have ? g. What happened in August, 1914 ? d. When did he die ? h. Thomas didn't write poems before 1914. A quel temps les verbes de ces phrases sont-ils conjugués ? …………………………………… Soulignez en bleu les verbes à la forme affirmative. Que remarquez-vous ? …………………………………………………………. Soulignez en vert les verbes à la forme négative. Que remarquez-vous ? …………………………………………………………. Soulignez en rouge les formes interrogatives. Que remarquez-vous ? 1) …………………………………………………………………………… 2) ……………………………………………………………………………........................................ Let’s recap ! BE AUTRES VERBES Réguliers Forme affirmative Irréguliers Forme interrogative Forme négative AT HOME 2 : Conjuguez les verbes suivants au Preterit simple. 1. Where ……………………………….. (Thomas/come) from ? - He …............................ (come) from London. 2. …................................................ (his parents/be) Irish ? - No, they …......................... 3. When …......................................................... (Thomas/write) « Adlestrop » ? 4. Thomas …....................................... (not/enlist) at the beginning of the war, he …......................(enlist) in 1915. 5. Thomas …...................................... (travel) throughout Gloucestershire. 6. WWI …......................................... (not/begin) on June 24th 1914, it …............................. (begin) on June 28th. 7. - …………………………. (Thomas/study) at Cambridge ? - No, he ….................................... 8. - …………………….….. (Thomas/be) a novelist ? - Yes, he ………………. But he …............................... (be) mainly a poet. 9. Who …...................................... (write) the poem « Adlestrop » ? More exercises... AT HOME (past simple) I. Complétez avec un mot interrogatif en « Wh- » : 1) …..................... did he start to write poems ? - Because he was worried about the war. 2) …..................... did he write « Adlestrop » ? - In 1917. 3) ….................... was he when he died ? - He was 39 years old. 4) ….................... did WWI last ? - It lasted four years, from 1914 to 1918. II. A propos de E. Thomas et de la Grande Guerre. Posez une question qui correspond à la réponse donnée (on vous fournit entre parenthèses le verbe à utiliser dans la question) : 1) ….......................................................................................... ? (die) - He was killed at war. 2) ….......................................................................................... ? (happen) - WWI began. 3) ….......................................................................................... ? (study) - He studied at Oxford. 4) ….......................................................................................... ? (write) - Edward Thomas 5) ….......................................................................................... ? (get married) - Yes, he did. 6) ….......................................................................................... ? (be) - Yes, he was . 7) ….......................................................................................... ? (write) - Yes, he did. 8) ….......................................................................................... ? (be) - He was a poet and a book reviewer. 9) ….......................................................................................... ? (enlist) - Because he thought it was his duty. III. Conjuguez au prétérit simple : 1) - …......................................... (you/see) him yesterday ? - No, I ….................. 2) I …........................................... (not/know) the poem « Adlestrop ». 3) - …...................................... (Thomas/be) from London ? - Yes, he was. 4) - What ….......................................... (he/study) at University ? - I don't know. He probably …............................ (study) litterature. 5) Thomas …................................ (go) to war in 1915. He …........................................ (not/enlist) at the beginning of the war. He …................................ (have) the choice to enlist or not because he …........................... (be) quite old. 6) His parents …...................................... (not/be) artists. 7) He …................................... (get) married with Helen and they ….............................. (have) 3 children. Help ! worried : inquiet to last : durer duty : devoir (moral) (cf « Call of duty »!!!) !!! to be married (with) : être marié (avec)/ to marry someone = to get married with someone : se marrier (avec qqn) T2W3 Do you have a talent for observation ? MISSION : You are a team of foreign journalists. You want to go to Wetsminster Abbey to write a report on the Great War Poets, especially on Edward Thomas, on WWI's 100th anniversary. Which building is Westminster Abbey ? (Tick the right picture) Locate Westminster Abbey on the map of London below. Which tube station will you have to stop at to go to Westminster Abbey ? …...................................................................................................................................................................... Now try to locate... Poets' Corner inside Westminster Abbey The Great War poets' slate stone in Poets' Corner Edward Thomas's name TO GO FURTHER... At home, if you want, choose one of the poets above and introduce him to the class (write a short paragraph) Clues for questions Birth When ? Where ? Family His parents' origins ? Married ? (yes/no ? Who?) Children ? (yes/no ? How many?) Studies Where ? Job What ? Artistic production What ? When ? (poems ? Novels ?) Death When ? Where ? How ? Buried Where ? Fame (adj. famous) Why ? His poems What ? (themes) VERBS you can use... be be about be born be buried be killed be married attend begin come from deal (with) die enlist have go marry (someone) publish start study work write .
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