Analysis of 'But These Things Also'

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Analysis of  “But these things also”         

The poem ‘But these things also’ by Edward Thomas was written in 1915. Thomas describes the transition period between Winter and Spring. The focus of the poem is on Spring, however the reader is reminded that Winter is not quite over. This seems to be sending a mixed message, suggesting Winter and Spring are used as more than just seasons, but are perhaps symbolic of death and hope, or rebirth. Amongst the themes of this poem are death, denial, hope and perhaps war.

The tone seems very down beat and pessimistic throughout. There are slight crescendos occasionally, followed by bathos. For example, in the first line Thomas mentions Spring, which seems very fresh and positive, a couple of lines later the grass is described as ‘long-dead’ which doesn’t fit most peoples idea of Springtime. Enjambment forces the pace to speed up at points assisting this crescendo effect, for example, in the last stanza ‘the starling flocks by chattering on and on keep their spirits up in the mist’. These three lines are without punctuation; it seems for a moment free and unrestrained like the birds that he describes. At other times use of caesura, usually colons or semi-colons, create a broken up, list like effect – ‘In the grass: chip of flint; and mite of chalk; and…’. These short, sharp phrases regulate the pace of the poem when set aside the lines of enjambment. The caesura of the last line emphasises the strong contrast between Winter and Spring – ‘And Springs here, Winters not gone.’ The single full stop at the end of ‘Winter’s not gone’ (the only one used in the poem) makes the statement very definite and final.

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The poem seems like someone’s line of thought – ‘but’ is the first word, it is like we have just intruded, or are part of some kind of argument. Thomas is not trying to forcefully make a point, but instead, he probably wants the reader to think about its meaning.

We do not know what ‘these things’ are, it is very vague and again it seems that the poem is written from the perspective of someone thinking about something rather than that Thomas is trying to present an argument.

 

Spring is symbolic of a fresh start to ...

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