Poems of Edward Thomas

by Edward Thomas, Peter Sacks

Since the publication of Walter de la Mare's first edition of his poems in 1920, Edward Thomas has gradually come to be seen as one of the great English poets of the 20th century. Though sometimes classified with Owen, Rosenberg, and Sassoon as a "war poet," he was rather a poet who died tragically in the war. His main subjects were the English countryside and people, solitude, and the anguish of solipsism. As de la Mare wrote eighty years ago, "When Edward Thomas was killed in Flanders, a mirror of England was shattered of so pure and true a crystal that a clearer and tenderer reflection of it can be found no other where than in these poems." This complete collection of Thomas's poems returns us to the ongoing relevance of this essential poet. Revealing a poet whose work resonates in our times, this volume will be returned to again and again.

The sorrow of true love is a great sorrow
And true love parting blackens a bright morrow:
Yet almost they equal joys, since their despair
Is but hope blinded by its tears, and clear
Above the storm the heavens wait to be seen.
But greater sorrow from less love has been
That can mistake lack of despair for hope
And knows not tempest and the perfect scope
Of summer, but a frozen drizzle perpetual
Of drops that from remorse and pity fall
And cannot ever shine in the sun or thaw,
Removed eternally from the sun's law.
- Last Poem [The sorrow of true love]

Genres: Poetry

148 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Philip Edward Thomas was an Anglo-Welsh writer of prose and poetry. He is commonly considered a war poet, although few of his poems deal directly with his war experiences. Already an accomplished writer, Thomas turned to poetry only in 1914. He enlisted in the army in 1915, and was killed in action during the Battle of Arras in 1917, soon after he arrived in France.

His Works:

Poetry collections:

Six Poems, under pseudonym Edward Eastaway, Pear Tree Press, 1916.
Poems, Holt, 1917.
Last Poems, Selwyn & Blount, 1918.
Collected Poems, Selwyn & Blount, 1920.
Two Poems, Ingpen & Grant, 1927.
The Poems of Edward Thomas, R. George Thomas (ed), Oxford University Press, 1978
Poemoj (Esperanto translation), Kris Long (ed & pub), Burleigh Print, Bracknell, Berks, 1979.
Edward Thomas: A Mirror of England, Elaine Wilson (ed), Paul & Co., 1985.
The Poems of Edward Thomas, Peter Sacks (ed), Handsel Books, 2003.
The Annotated Collected Poems, Edna Longley (ed), Bloodaxe Books, 2008.

Fiction:

The Happy-Go-Lucky Morgans (novel), 1913

Essay collections:

Horae Solitariae, Dutton, 1902.
Oxford, A & C Black, 1903.
Beautiful Wales, Black, 1905.
The Heart of England, Dutton, 1906.
The South Country, Dutton, 1906 (reissued by Tuttle, 1993).
Rest and Unrest, Dutton, 1910.
Light and Twilight, Duckworth, 1911.
The Last Sheaf, Cape, 1928.

Reviews

[Vivian Blaxell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest early 20th century British poets, yet mostly forgotten these days. His profound relationship with the English landscape, its pre-modern people and paths, and its cycles is evoked with almost painful lyricism. His poems about love for women and his children are perfectly crafted arrows straight to the heart.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A man in love with the countryside, who resides in the pastoral bittersweetness of life, preserved there forever. Savouring the sweetness of moments, yet knowing the sadness of their inevitable passing. And thanks to his loving skill with words, he managed to preserve those moments for us too.

[N.W. Moors · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this because Robert McFarlane referenced Mr. Thomas's life and poems, and I found them interesting. The poems remind me of essays my grandmother wrote about the New England countryside, though in this case, Mr. Thomas writes about southern England.
It's easy to picture the birds, flowers, and trees along his walks from his writing. The poems are very evocative of the places and people of that area.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The books (Poems + Last Poems) which comprise Edward Thomas' oeuvre are a perfect starting place for someone who wishes to begin reading poetry. Many consider him a war poet, as he served with the British during WWI. The war and mortality rarely creep into his poems which are largely pastoral.

I agree with many reviewers: there are not a ton of easy quotes that you can memorize to use and feel smart or merely remind yourself of some concept. Instead, his poems have emotional power in their fullness.

I highly recommend! Amazon has the two books for free for Kindle. I loved them them so much that I will likely set a few to music as they are public domain.

[Ashley McKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profoundly beautiful. I love how he describes and captures the English landscape, as well as how it evokes emotion, how he expresses pain and even melancholy. His poems to his wife and children are marvellous.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas is one of the poets of the WWI period, though his direct allusions to the war are infrequent. Instead, he writes beautifully about nature, which sometimes centers him and sometimes is a foil to his own sense of loss and insignificance.