Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
already experiencing death, in the form of his everlasting solitude in his life. In
addition, it could allude to the fact that he is not simply alone but Thomas in fact does
not have anyone else left and this is all the more emphasised in the despair in his
tone. A technique that Thomas uses throughout Rain to highlight his sad tone is
pathetic fallacy. The Rain outside, can somewhat mimic the tears that Edward
himself was feeling and therefore urges the reader to empathise with him and truly
dive into the same emotions that he was feeling at the time of writing the poem.
Finally, despite Thomass efforts to argue that sleep is sweeter, he conveys a
sense of clinging onto life throughout the poem. It mentions That I may lose my way
and myself in Lights Out and this suggests that Thomas, through the act of losing
his way suggests that it was not intentionally meant to have been given up. This
therefore contradicts and assumptions that Thomas had been having suicidal
thoughts. We see the voluntary giving up of life in ? as it mentions Shall I ask at the
days end once more[]And shall I let go. Through this, it highlights the uncertainty in
his thoughts but also the ambiguity with whether his decision to go to war was tainted
with his personal dissatisfaction with life itself.
In conclusion, through the questions of the value of life, proves a very modern
technique in literature. It creates a very distinctive opposite to the early Romantic
poems that Thomas produced and this has all the more enforced this contrast. Edward
Thomas presents death through its many angles. As an avenue, he highlights the
journey of life, and how ultimately, it is arguable to say that death is our final
destination, therefore being an unworthy ultimatum. He also sheds light on the true
individuality of life and, no matter who we may have or not have around us, we enter
the world and leave this world alone. This is all the more enforced through the
emphasis of the rhyme scheme, and the changing of the semantics in line structure
alongside syntax and pathetic fallacy. Therefore, Edward Thomas presents death from
its many angles, and ends on a particularly negative tone, which could reflect his own
personal views towards life and death.