FULL POEM - SCROLL DOWN FOR LINE-BY-LINE ANALYSIS
Yes. I remember Adlestrop—
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.
The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop—only the name
And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.
And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
LINE-BY-LINE ANALYSIS
STANZA 1
Yes. I remember Adlestrop—
‘Adlestrop’ is a village in Gloucestershire, a county situated in Southwest England. The poem begins in a conservational tone, with similar phrasing to if the speaker was responding to a question posed to him by a friend. The caesura (dash) at the end of the line also follows this structure, representing the speaker’s pause for thought before responding in greater detail.
The name, because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly. It was late June.
The poem is anecdotal, based on the railway journey of the poet, Edward Thomas, this ‘one afternoon’ in ‘late June’ during 1914. He recalls that the train he was on (which Thomas took from Oxford to Worcester) made an unscheduled stop at the Adlestrop station and it is for this reason, having the time to observe the station whilst the train was delayed there, that he remembers the town of Adlestrop. The poem is characterised by short, matter of fact sentences, which Thomas uses to create a sense of normality – in other words, there is nothing special going on here.
STANZA 2
The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat.
In these next stanzas, Thomas’ use of sensory language helps to paint a vivid picture of Adlestrop station as he witnessed it on that ‘one afternoon’ in ‘late June’. Acoustically, he recalls that ‘the steam hissed’. This sibilance (alliteration of s’s in ‘steam’ and ‘hissed) is onomatopoeic which further helps the reader connect with the environment and also forms a harsh, sharp sound which juxtaposes the natural tranquillity described in the third and fourth stanzas – encapsulating the way in which mankind undermines the beauty of nature through building and engineering.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform. What I saw
Was Adlestrop—only the name
Visually, the speaker conveys a sense of isolation, with the ‘bare’ platform being completely devoid of people, leaving ‘only the name’ of the station to be observed. This isolation references the tranquillity of quintessentially rural England at the time, soon to be tragically eradicated by the First World War later that year!
STANZA 3
And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
The repetition of the conjunction ‘and’ is polysyndeton used to emphasise the profusion and variety of the surrounding natural beauty. The imagery of the ‘willows, willow-herb, grass and meadowsweet’ all paint a picture of lush, green meadows, whilst the ‘haycocks’ (cone-shaped pile of hay) are a picturesque symbol of the British countryside.
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.
This old English means that the aforementioned willows, willow-herb, grass, meadowsweet and haycocks are equally as still and beautiful as the ‘high cloudlets in the sky’. Thomas describes the diminutive clouds that he saw by adding the suffix ‘lets’ to the word cloud. (Just like how the suffix ‘let’ is added to the word ‘book’ to form ‘booklet’ – a small book).
STANZA 4
And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
The birdsong (a further example of sensory language) is another symbol of the surrounding tranquil countryside. It is also associated with freedom as birds are free to roam the skies as they please.
Farther and farther, all the birds
Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
Thomas’ claim that ‘all the birds of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire’ were singing is hyperbolic – used to emphasise the tranquillity enjoyed throughout England at the time of Thomas’ journey (on the 24th June 1914). This is tragically ironic with the start of World War I little over one month away. On the surface, all seems well, but beneath it, tensions are rising – tensions that would ultimately trigger a war killing between 17,500,000 and 40,000,000, including Edward Thomas who was killed in 1917.
