Edward Thomas Analysis

Submitted By Amandaphiri
Words: 692
Pages: 3

AMANDA PHIRI
Edward Thomas Essay
Edward Thomas expresses that he is very sad and quite depressed in various poems, particularly ‘Melancholy’ and ‘Rain’. In both of these poems he seems to resent his being alone but also appreciates it in a rather unusual way. Throughout ‘Melancholy’ it is clear that Thomas is suffering and in sadness; it is a state of mind for him. Although Thomas resents his sadness in this poem, he does not want to change his ways, “so that if I feared the solitude / far more I feared all company: too sharp, too rude.” Which implies that his disliking of being alone won’t motivate him in to finding company as he has reasons for why that would be just as bad as being alone and he says why he fears people “too sharp, too rude” suggesting Thomas was easily hurt by other people. Alternatively Thomas remains in a state that shows the audience that maybe he does not want to escape this gloomy mind set; which then shows us that maybe a part of him takes pleasure in his own sadness.
This strange behaviour is shown more clearly throughout the poem, as he uses a metaphor of weather for his sadness, “The rain and wind, the rain and wind, raved endlessly” Considering terrible weather usually reflects Thomas’ own feelings, Thomas’ use of repetition to highlights the never ending pain he endures, which is accentuated by “raved endlessly” giving the impression that his emotions are continues and uncontrollable. However, Thomas then goes on to say “On me the summer storm, and fever” the juxtaposition from ‘summer storm’ implying that Thomas is feeling a weird mix of emotions that even he finds unusual, he seems distressed by this “on me” implies that he feels like his contrasting emotions are a burden weighing him down, keeping him trapped , furthermore the word “fever” suggests that he is aware of his illness on the other hand it implies that the weather is the cause of his sadness as bad weather is usually the cause of illnesses such as fevers.
In the poem “Rain” Edward Thomas uses repetition in the first sentence “Rain midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain” giving the imagery of cold, dark surrounding this weather symbolizing despair and agony furthermore the word “midnight” tells us the time of day and that it is dark suggesting danger and vulnerability and “wild” implies that there is a storm rather than light drizzle of rain which gives the imagery of the rain being unstoppable and inescapable. The repetition of the word “rain” emphasis the situation and creates an immediate impact sadness which is underlined by the disarmingly open, confessional tone. The repetition of words “rain”, “solitude”, and “love”