Edward Thomas

1. “The New House” Edward Thomas

2. The New House Now first, as I shut the door,      I was alone In the new house ; and the wind      Began to moan. Old at once was the house,      And I was old ; My ears were teased with the dread      Of what was foretold, Nights of storm, days of mist, without end ;      Sad days when the sun Shone in vain : old griefs and griefs Not yet begun. All was foretold me ; naught      Could I foresee ; But I learned how the wind would sound      After these things should be.

3. Context • Edward Thomas (1878–1917) was born in London. • degree in History at Oxford University and went on to become a journalist and writer. • He started to write poetry in 1914, after some encouragement from Robert Frost. • was living near the village of Steep in Hampshire and this place inspired some of his poems.

4. Context • Before his poetry made it into print, Thomas was killed at the battle of Arras during World War I. • Poets such as Philip Larkin, Derek Walcott and W H Auden have suggested they have been influenced by Thomas’s work. Ted Hughes acknowledged his debt to Thomas when he referred to him as ‘the father of us all’.

5. The poem ‘The New House’ is about a house that Thomas lived in near Steep in Hampshire.

6. Structure • regular rhyme scheme and line lengths • alternates between lines of four syllables and lines of six to nine syllables. • some lines inverted • Indentation • All makes it seem a very traditionally structured poem.

7. Consider the structure of the poem and how it might relate to the house which is itself a ‘structure’.

8. The following slides highlight key phrases in the poem. • Use them to make notes

9. The New House Now first, as I shut the door,      I was alone In the new house ; and the wind      Began to moan.

10. The New House Now first, as I shut the door,      I was alone In the new house ; and the wind Began to moan.

11. The New House Old at once was the house,      And I was old ; My ears were teased with the dread      Of what was foretold,

12. The New House Old at once was the house,      And I was old ; My ears were teased with the dread      Of what was foretold,

13. The New House Nights of storm, days of mist, without end ;      Sad days when the sun Shone in vain : old griefs and griefs Not yet begun.

14. The New House Nights of storm, days of mist, without end ;      Sad days when the sun Shone in vain : old griefs and griefs Not yet begun.

15. The New House All was foretold me ; naught      Could I foresee ; But I learned how the wind would sound      After these things should be.

16. The New House All was foretold me ; naught      Could I foresee ; But I learned how the wind would sound      After these things should be.

17. The New House Now first, as I shut the door,      I was alone In the new house ; and the wind      Began to moan. Old at once was the house,      And I was old ; My ears were teased with the dread      Of what was foretold, Nights of storm, days of mist, without end ;      Sad days when the sun Shone in vain : old griefs and griefs Not yet begun. All was foretold me ; naught      Could I foresee ; But I learned how the wind would sound      After these things should be.

18. Comparisons • Link the poem to others in the anthology.

19. Question • How does Thomas create an ominous and foreboding atmosphere in the poem? • Write 1 PEE paragraph on: • language, • Structure • theme