Edward Thomas Themes and Characteristics

Edward Thomas Themes and characteristics

Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate and author of seminal book on Thomas’ poetry:

‘Because all of his poetry was written after the outbreak of war, it is all, in an important sense, war poetry. Behind every line, whether mentioned or not, lies imminent danger and disruption.’

Michele Fry, critic: ‘In a sense all of Thomas' poems are war poems, not merely through being written during the war.’

Robert Frost. American poet, close friend of Thomas: ‘His poetry ought to be called 'Roads to France'.’

Some important characteristics of Thomas' poetry

As you read and revise the poems, use the following points to help you to begin grouping the poems by identifying which display these characteristics.

 ‘The figure of the vagabond or solitary who animated the stable qualities inherent in landscape is common throughout his work.’ (Motion).  The desire for or inability to 'grasp the moment' - carpe diem.  The union of all time in a single rapturous moment - look for time seeming to stand still in the poems.  The capture of the speaking voice/natural speech rhythms in the poems.  Poems that are introduced as if part of a dialogue or seem to expect an answer; they seemingly begin as if in response to a question.  The use of archaism, snatches of ballad, folk songs, allusions to other poems, Shakespeare, all of which provide a direct link to the past, particularly to England's literary/cultural past. Motion calls this 'to hint at its pedigree of dimmest antiquity.'  The desire for the peace of death, while 'paradoxically loath to resign his participation in the conscious, active world.' (Motion)  Birds and birdsong. Birds recur in Thomas' poems. They are a stable motif in a shifting, changing natural and social environment. The natural world of England was under siege and retreating in the face of mechanisation, social change and war. Birds and their songs remain pure and unaltered by circumstance, providing Thomas with, perhaps, a fixed reference point. This is clearly not the only reason Thomas includes birds, but there is something very English about the birds he chooses: the thrush and its distinctive song, often the last song to be heard at dusk, is perhaps the most English of them all. Did Thomas identify with the thrush, each singing their song against the dying of the light?  The motif of roads, pathways, journeys, both actual, metaphorical or both.