Adlestrop by Edward Thomas

Question 1

Context:

Answer 1

• Autobiographical poem about a train journey Thomas took 6 weeks before the first WW.
• It was written after WWI started, suggesting a sense of reflection and reminiscence.
• Thomas began writing poetry after the start of WWI and was considered a war poet, although this is about the ephemerality of time and enjoying the momentary beauty of nature.
• Inspired by Romanticism.
• Enlisted for war; the poem is even more poignant since he died in it in 1917.

Question 2

Form:

Answer 2

• 4 quatrains
• Loose iambic tetrameter, although not very important due to conversational tone
• Rhyme scheme is ABCB, a very familiar and simple rhyme scheme perhaps to exemplify the simple yet powerful mesmerisation caused due to nature’s fascinating wonder and its peacefulness

Question 3

Structure:

Answer 3

The poem seems to feature a significant volta, at the point when the poet remembers all the beauty, exemplifying the idyllic nature of the scene, since the memories seem to overflow inside the mind of the speaker

Question 4

KEY QUOTE: Conversational tone at the start, beginning en media res, showing the peaceful nature of the scene, through the caesura:

Answer 4

“Yes. I remember Adlestrop”

Question 5

KEY QUOTE: The speaker describes the hot afternoon, perhaps reflecting Thomas’ concern about the war, while the depiction of nature shows his release from this worry:

Answer 5

“one afternoon of heat the express-train drew up there”

Question 6

KEY QUOTES: Sibilance and onomatopoeia create auditory imagery to describe the sound of the steam, contributing to a sense of tranquility, furthered by the sense of isolation on the platform:

Answer 6

“The steam hissed […] no one left and no one came on the bare platform”

Question 7

KEY QUOTES: The speaker’s memories of the beauty of nature in the area overwhelm him suddenly, resulting in an overflowing, majestic description of various aspects of attractive nature; the polysyndeton used accentuates the abundance of nature and the speaker’s attachment and enthusiasm about the beauty:

Answer 7

“and willows, willow-herb, and grass, and meadowsweet, and haycocks dry”

Question 8

KEY QUOTE: Auditory imagery of a bird singing, sweetening the idyllic depiction of nature with the stimulation of another sense; also exemplifies the speaker’s attachment to that momentary view:

Answer 8

“for that minute a blackbird sang”

Question 9

KEY QUOTE: The speaker zooms out on the scene, providing a broad view of the scenic beauty of the moment; hyperbolic language highlights widespread beauty and the extent to which the speaker is mesmerised by it:

Answer 9

“Farther and farther, all the birds of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire”

Question 10

Summary

Answer 10

This poem, although reflective of an idyllic, mesmerising scene, abundant with nature, has a deeper emotional meaning, relevant to Edward Thomas; it perhaps represents a release from the concern that clouded him during war, through his reminiscence of the beautiful train journey and the “unwonted” yet opportune stop at Adlestrop station, where the awe and wonder of nature truly brightened the mental state of the speaker (especially shown through overflowing emotions and memories of the place).