Aleena Islam
ADLESTROP – Edward Thomas
Themes
Consolation, serenity, tranquillity, calmness, peace,
reminiscence, familiarity
Contextual overview
This poem was written in 1914, right before Thomas
enlisted in the army and fought in World War I. Thomas
reminisces a peaceful train station in Adlestrop,
Gloucestershire as he remembers being overwhelmed
by the beauty of his surroundings. It is most likely that
he wrote this poem while fighting in World War I as a
manner of recollecting the tranquillity and serenity that
the English countryside had to offer. It is possible that
Thomas used this rural idyll as a consolation to him
while enduring the cacophony and chaos of war.
Key features of language, form and structure
- The first stanza commences with an assertive
exclamation; ‘Yes.’ The purpose of this exclamation is to
display his surprise of remembering a supposedly
meaningless place. The assertive exclamation highlights
the clarity of this specific memory and the surprise of his
sudden reminiscence, since a simple dull place has been
fixed in his mind.
- When Edward Thomas is reminiscing about ‘one afternoon
of heat’ he portrays a warm and pleasant summer’s day.
The poet uses both pathetic fallacy and a metonymy to
mirror his own feelings of contentment and familiarity;
heat usually has connotations of warmth and hospitality
since it is a means of evading the frigid cold during winter.
Due to the bleak and bitter conditions of the trenches
during WW1, this reminiscence of warmth will have
boosted his morale while continuously fighting. The heat
ADLESTROP – Edward Thomas
Themes
Consolation, serenity, tranquillity, calmness, peace,
reminiscence, familiarity
Contextual overview
This poem was written in 1914, right before Thomas
enlisted in the army and fought in World War I. Thomas
reminisces a peaceful train station in Adlestrop,
Gloucestershire as he remembers being overwhelmed
by the beauty of his surroundings. It is most likely that
he wrote this poem while fighting in World War I as a
manner of recollecting the tranquillity and serenity that
the English countryside had to offer. It is possible that
Thomas used this rural idyll as a consolation to him
while enduring the cacophony and chaos of war.
Key features of language, form and structure
- The first stanza commences with an assertive
exclamation; ‘Yes.’ The purpose of this exclamation is to
display his surprise of remembering a supposedly
meaningless place. The assertive exclamation highlights
the clarity of this specific memory and the surprise of his
sudden reminiscence, since a simple dull place has been
fixed in his mind.
- When Edward Thomas is reminiscing about ‘one afternoon
of heat’ he portrays a warm and pleasant summer’s day.
The poet uses both pathetic fallacy and a metonymy to
mirror his own feelings of contentment and familiarity;
heat usually has connotations of warmth and hospitality
since it is a means of evading the frigid cold during winter.
Due to the bleak and bitter conditions of the trenches
during WW1, this reminiscence of warmth will have
boosted his morale while continuously fighting. The heat
