Adlestrop

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.

 

Source: Poems (1917)

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Analysis

Adlestrop is reflective and peaceful, almost certainly autobiographical in nature. Written in free verse it is presented to us in four stanzas each containing four lines.

The consistent rhyming pattern where the second and fourth line of each stanza ends in a rhyme helps to give the poem a gentle feel, thematically appropriate given the poems lilting content.

The reflection on the natural world could classify the poem as romantic in style. It’s a snapshot of a small and seemingly insignificant moment in the poet’s life.

. First stanza

‘Yes, I remember Adlestrop —

The name, because one afternoon

Of heat the express-train drew up there

Unwontedly. It was late June.’

The first line of the first stanza addresses the reader directly and is striking. It’s as if he is either answering a question, or, more likely, recounting a specific moment in his life. The poem thus becomes a story. This approach is unsurprising for a poet who was also a novelist. Thomas helps to create a vivid and mental picture of what the scene would have looked like by describing it as an afternoon of heat. Yet, it also gives you an idea of the weather at that moment and helps to set the tone of the poem.

He goes on further to say that the train was an express train. Presumably to emphasise that he was looking for a direct route (and didn’t really want to be hanging around). Was he frustrated on being late? Possibly. This notion is supported by the first word of the fourth line: ‘Unwontedly’.

Whilst we may note that the poem ends in a blissful and idyllic fashion there are hints of a discordant feel during the first stanza.

. Second stanza

‘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’

The poet manages again to evoke a clear image of the surroundings using very few words. This is clever.

The first line of the second stanza is centred on the sound of the event. In the previous stanza it was more of a description of the physical atmosphere. The reader could perceive this description as meaning that the train was (quite) noisy. Or is the opposite true? Perhaps there is a dull background noise from the hissing steam and the only accompaniment to that sound is a man clearing his throat.

He later goes on to describe how nobody entered or left the train. This is quite obvious given the evidence from the first stanza where we can see this is an unscheduled stop for the train. He describes the platform as being bare, a bleak adjective. He then claims the only thing that appears on the platform is the name of the station, Adlestrop. This is interesting as the station has a Germanic sounding name. Although Thomas has a reputation for being a war poet, this is unlikely to have pertinence to the war and more than likely to just be a coincidence.

. Third Stanza

‘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.’

Hitherto Thomas hadn’t seemed particularly positive in his comments regarding the train station, seemingly seeing his unscheduled stop as a burden and a chore. But that view seems to dissipate in this section of the poem as the narrator describes the natural world’s influence on the area. He begins by describing the plant life: he lists beautiful plants which paints a serene picture in the mind’s eye. This stanza now becomes visual (whereas previously the narrator explored sounds and atmosphere). He does, though, use personification by suggesting the clouds are carefree. Using the phrase ‘no whit less’ effectively means that they couldn’t care less. This promotes the idea of nature being free-spirited.

Then, interestingly, Thomas describes the clouds as cloudlets. Does this suggest that there is only a spattering of cloud? Is this why the clouds are ascribed as being lonely? All these mental images create a scene of what this area is like.

What we have is a story being told in several different ways; but, the main character is the scenery itself, rather than on the narrator who is sat on a train taking everything in.

. Fourth Stanza

‘And for that minute a blackbird sang

Close by, and round him, mistier,

Farther and farther, all the birds

Of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.’

The first line of the fourth stanza makes it clear that the stop at Adlestrop hasn’t been particularly long. They were only there for a minute. The poet calls again on nature to make his points. No longer moaning, it seems, but instead is impressed by the display that is being put on for him. He engenders an image of grandiosity. We cannot think for one moment that he actually believes that of all the birds between Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire are actually singing – although that appears to be what is happening. It’s this use of hyperbole that lends a sense of majesty to an otherwise dull and, at first, frustrating occasion.

What is most interesting is that the poet uses so many place names throughout the poem that it helps to cement in the consciousness a physical positioning on the map. Such an approach adds to the gravitas and believability of the images and sounds the narrator has created in the mind of the reader.