Edward And Helen Thomas Flashcards
Perspective
FIRST LETTER- standpoint of an observer of destruction “I simply watched the shells” premodification of “simply”= understatement - an attempt to de escalate the intensity of the situation to his wife wishes for her to believe he is safe
Despite him being in such a relevant situation he doesn’t use the first person pronoun “I” too regularly
Directly addresses her “you should have seen” illustrates a want for her to know she is in his mind
Involvement of her despite the distance between the two- determiner “should have” a longing ness for her perhaps portraying the unfair nature of the distance between the two
First person present tense in opening sentence “here I am” implies an ongoing correspondence between the two- an understanding without too much context needed
Chooses to focus his writing on the beauty od his surroundings as he is primarily a natuee poet- wishes to share this with his wife but also to reassure her
LETTER TWO perspective of a wife consumed by longing and wistfulness
Repeated use of Personal pronouns in opening line “my darling my own soul” declaring her love for him an uncertainty that they will reunite - internalises him.
Sustained use of collective pronoun “we” illustrates herself and him as a unit- doesn’t reference herself in this passage only interest is him and his safety
LETTER THREE
Far more frequent use of the personal pronoun “I” - is now without him
Context
Edward Thomas was nature poet who suffered with his mental health was sent to war died aged 39 in action in France.
Helen was his devoted wife with three children awaiting his return
Lexis
Continued use of natural lexis semantic field in all three letters
Contextually- as a nature poet this was of individual interest to Edward of which he shared his love with Helen
Used to express love and fondness
Used almost euphemistically in places “the wounded that would be harvested” and “the terrible winter” referring to the time at which Edward passed “wound” and “harvest” temporary- tryi;h to reassure wife that this break would be temporary
Used to relate the power of nature to his own atmosphere “the artillery like a stormy tide” simile creates a likening between nature and war whereas the two are typically juxtapose one another.
Way of finding peace in the situation- by relating to nature.
Syntactic parallelism- “all that matters” a wistful attempt to remove the aspect of war from their love for one another
Quantifier “all” may be received by readers as impactful- the only thing that’s mattered to her was the love she shared with him knowledge that he dies
Use of abstract nouns “darkness” “despair” untouchable/ unreachable nature of these nouns reflects her new inability to reach edward- feelings of “hope” earlier juxtapose this
Tone
Ambitious tone of optimism - Semantic field of hope “calm” “happiness” “sooner”
Calm and happiness or abstract nouns these have connotations of an unfortunately unrealistic pleasure Satisfaction or even relief
These acts as an antithesis for the later abstract pounds used darkness despair and nothingness
The sheer contrast between the suffix nouns nothingness darkness and happiness portray the finality of this change and the loss of hope as a result
Comparative phrase of time “sooner” Morbidly portrays the hope held by Helen 
Declarative tone “the snow will melt”
The snow is a metaphor for the difficult times that Edward is facing.
Pathetic fallacy is used here Perhaps there is a shared understanding that she is discussing his life as he he himself was an nature poet.
The use of the modal verb will portrays the declarative attitude and the definite nature of her belief that Edward will return home eventually
The verb melt has connotations of finality and an irreversible nature
PAF
Purpose transforms from a means of communication between the two lovers to perhaps a tribute to the life of the poet Edward Thomas and declaration of Helens love him
Audience was initially intimate only each other would read published to those who enjoyed the poetry of Edward Thomas and readers of Helens book
Format letters in places unconventional but has conventional aspects
