Last Poems

Thomas, Edward, 1878-1917Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.3

Word count: 67K words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Last Poems by Edward ThomasAuthor: Thomas, Edward, 1878-1917,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Sep 23, 2007

Editor's review

This Last Poems is the posthumous collection of the British poet Edward Thomas (1878–1917), gathering poems written in the final stage of his life. Thomas's verse is known for its plainness and restraint: he catches subtle feeling and the trace of time in ordinary rural scenes, and his language, close to speech, has an inner rhythm. The value of this collection lies not in grand lyricism but in a diary-like honesty: he writes of birdsong, of rain, of trees by the road, and also of private hesitation and farewell under the shadow of war. For readers used to a few short poems on the commute or before sleep, the book is not demanding, yet offers a quiet, slowly savored reading experience; for those studying British poetry around the First World War, it is also important material for understanding Thomas's turn from prose writer to poet. This electronic edition comes from Project Gutenberg and is a public-domain English original, suitable as a bilingual reading text or an introductory selection of English poetry. Note that the book has no modern annotations, and some place names and objects require the reader's own lookup.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of English nature poetry and rural subjects
Learners who wish to practice reading short poems in the English original
Literature students studying British poetry around the First World War
Light readers who want a few short poems for the commute or before sleep

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting long narrative or strong dramatic conflict
Beginning readers who need detailed annotations and background guidance
Readers who prefer modern Chinese translations and are unused to English originals

Reading tips

Read one or two poems a day, pause after each, and note the first image or feeling that comes to mind.
Read alongside the historical background of the First World War and note how natural imagery echoes the mood of the time.
Try reading the originals aloud to feel the colloquial rhythm and the pauses created by line breaks.
Look up unfamiliar place names or bird and animal names as you go; there is no need to finish the book at one sitting.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this collection suitable for readers with only a basic command of English?

Yes. Thomas mostly uses everyday vocabulary, his sentences are not long, and the line breaks are clear, so readers with basic English can work through the poems slowly with a dictionary. But the book has no annotations, so place names, bird names, and historical background must be looked up; reading with background material is recommended.

What is the difference between the Gutenberg edition and translations on the market?

The Gutenberg edition provides the public-domain English original, with no translator and no modern editorial notes. Translations on the market usually include a translator's preface and notes, which make the background easier to understand. The two can be used together: read the original first for its tone, then consult the translation for difficulties.

Why is this book said to suit fragmented reading?

Because the collection consists mostly of short poems: each is brief, with concentrated imagery and no dependence on continuous plot. A reader can finish one poem in a few minutes and stop at any time without worrying about forgetting what came before, which suits commutes, lunch breaks, or reading before sleep.

Do I need to know Edward Thomas's life before reading this book?

You need not read a biography beforehand, but knowing that he turned to poetry only late in life and died in the First World War helps in understanding the restrained tone of farewell and the attachment to the countryside in these poems. You can read the poems first and look up his life afterward; the feeling will then be more concrete.

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About the author

Thomas, Edward, 1878-1917 Author

Edward Thomas (1878–1917) was an English poet and essayist, with nine of his works held in this collection. His writing falls broadly into two kinds. One comprises travel books and essays on the English countryside and its historic places, such as The Heart of England, In Pursuit of Spring, Oxford, The Icknield Way, Beautiful Wales and Windsor Castle, written in a plain, unhurried style and attentive to local scenery and everyday life. The other is lyrical poetry, represented by Poems and Last Poems, whose language is spare and restrained and whose themes are nature and rural life. Public information is limited, and the details of his life cannot be reliably established; yet on the evidence of the works themselves he was both a diligent walker and recorder and a poet of restraint and sincerity, and his writing on place and nature has its own place in twentieth-century English literature.