9 - Easter Monday Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is the context of the poem ‘Easter Monday’?
Written by Eleanor Farjoen in 1917 during WW1.
Inspired by Farjeon’s friendship with Edward Thomas, fellow poet, friend and somewhat reluctant WW1 soldier.
Brother introduced her to Edward in 1912 and, up until death in 1917, enjoyed close personal and intellectual relationship with poet and wife, Helen.
Had romantic feelings for him.
Letters important to him when fighting in France during WW1.
Edward killed in France on Easter Monday 1917 and Eleanor wrote poem in his memory.
Maintained close relationship with his wife after his death.
Reflects anguish and uncertainty of wartime correspondence.
Written as ode or elegy to Edward Thomas.
What is the form and structure of the poem ‘Easter Monday’?
Petrarchan Sonnet, form traditionally used in love poetry, appropriate form considering close relationship between Farjeon and Thomas.
Petrarchan Sonnet somewhat fractured, doesn’t follow usual structure of Octet and Sestet, represent how emotionally broken speaker is, stanza division reinforce how distant and removed are from one another due to war.
Poem without clear and distinct rhyme scheme, symbolising speaker without significant thing completed her life, absence of melodious sounds normally found in sonnets reinforces somber atmosphere of poem.
Lack of strict rhyme scheme mirrors chaos a d unpredictability of war, and grief of speaker’s loss.
Regular iambic pentameter creates tight structure of sonnet, intensifying emotional turmoil and grief felt by speaker.
What are the main themes of the poem ‘Easter Monday’?
Remembrance
Death
Loss of loved ones
Memory
Inner conflict
Non-combatants in conflict
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘Easter Monday’ for the theme of remembrance?
Anthem for Doomed Youth
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Mametz Wood
Last Post
What Lips My Lips Have Kissed
Requiem for the Croppies
Poppies
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘Easter Monday’ for the theme of death?
Anthem for Doomed Youth
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Requiem for the Croppies
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
Vergissmeinnicht
Mametz Wood
Out of the Blue
The Man He Killed
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘Easter Monday’ for the theme of loss of loved ones?
What Lips My Lips Have Kissed
Poppies
Vergissmeinnicht
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘Easter Monday’ for the theme of memory?
What Lips My Lips Have Kissed
Mametz Wood
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘Easter Monday’ for the theme of inner conflict?
What Lips My Lips Have Kissed
Poppies
What poems can be used to compare with the poem ‘Easter Monday’ for the theme of non-combatants in conflict?
Requiem for the Croppies
Out of the Blue
Poppies
What is the analysis for the title of the poem ‘Easter Monday’?
Evokes religious connotations of suffering and sacrifice, speaker links this to Thomas, while suggesting her own emotional suffering.
Evokes idea of resurrections and eternal life, speaker acknowledges friend is dead, yet will have to to move on with her life, while keeping him alive in memory.
‘(In Memoriam E.T.)’ - parenthesis illustrates how poem will offer personal and intimate insight into their relationship.
Poem doesn’t directly focus on brutality or horror of war, focuses on personal loss, dealing with emotional trauma of losing loved one gives poem elegiac feel.
What is the analysis for stanza 1 of the poem ‘Easter Monday’?
‘In the last letter…’ - letters act as symbol for friendship and connection between speaker and Thomas.
‘…last letter…’ - double meaning, clear is precious to speaker as not only was most recent letter, finla one, communication with friend now been severed.
‘…last letter…’ - alliteration creates soft sounds, reinforcing grief felt by speaker.
‘…I had from France’ - previous sounds juxtaposed with harsh alliterative sounds, evoking sound of speaker’s tears as try to contain emotions.
‘…the silver Easter egg’ - silver demonstrates how precious friendship was to speaker, illustrates how wanted him to experience and celebrate Easter despite being at war.
‘…I had hidden…’ - alliteration reinforces playful and caring relationship was, symbol of her hidden feelings.
‘You like to munch…’ - present tense shows how lingering on memories of Thomas and finding difficult to accept he is gone.
‘You like to munch…’ - onomatopoeia evokes image of Thomas enjoying and appreciating gift from speaker, speaker possesses intimate knowledge of friend’s preferences, reinforcing close connection between them.
‘…’I will praise Easter Monday now - It was such as lovely evening’’ - dialogue from Thomas makes reader feel as if listening to private conversation between two people.
‘…‘I will praise Easter Monday now…’’ - friendship and actions allowed him to be happy and not have misery of war impact him as much.
‘Of the coming battle…’ - tonal shift to concerned tone, lack of detail about battle shows lack of familiarity she has with war, however still affected emotionally by it.
‘And said…and said…’ - repetition shows how speaker clinging to memory of friend and what he said, living on in memory.
‘Good-bye’ - foreshadows Thomas’ death and consequential end of friendship.
‘And May I have a letter soon’ - letter act as source of comfort during war as gave Thomas emotional link to Eleanor.
Language quite restrained, simple and direct throughout, nothing overly elaborate or elevated, quite controversial in style, with enjambment and colloquialisms, reinforces close friendship shared.
Demonstrates purity of relationship and how speaker trying to restrain herself emotionally and not give in to grief.
1st stanza celebrates simple pleasures in life speakers enjoyed with friend before war ruined it.
What is the analysis for stanza 2 of the poem ‘Easter Monday’?
No dialogue in stanza, emphasises how his words in previous stanza were his final words.
‘…was a day for praise, it was such as lovely evening…’ - repetition helps illustrate parallels between Thomas’ dialogue and speaker’s response, poignantly, living out conversational response she wasn’t able to give him as he died, sounds like continued conversation as speaker tires for have Thomas live on in memory.
‘In our garden…’ - setting demonstrates how speaker is isolated from any real contact with war, stills feels effects of it through close friend being killed, life before war seemed peaceful and serene.
‘We showed our earliest seeds…’ - superlative shows speaker taking comfort from Leary memories made in their relationship.
‘…and in the orchard’ - natural imagery could symbolise her intention of continuing her life without close friend, will try to move on and enjoy life.
‘…and in the orchard’ - enjambment between lines supports ideas she hoped friendship would continue on, creating fast pace, shows how life will have to continue swiftly without him,optimism mingled with grief.
‘The apple-bud was ripe’ - metaphor for relationship them, emphasises vast potential tragically wasted as only got to enjoy beginnings of what could have been lifelong, meaningful friendship.
‘There are three letters that you will not get.’ - poignant tone, speaker moves away from past memories into harsh reality of present, he is dead and she will have to learn to cope with that.
‘…letter…’ - respected 3 times throughout poem, represents 3 letters he will never receive.
Reference to eve coupled with natural imagery, helps speaker paint Edenic scene, may be suggesting wishes to return to sense of happiness some point after coming to terms with Thomas’ death, or suggesting feels been cast out of paradise and will never enjoy it again.
Repetition of you 5 times emphasises speaker’s desperate longing to speaker to friend again.
What is the content, meaning and purpose of the poem ‘Easter Monday’?
Mourns loss of friend in WW1 through heartfelt sonnet.
Juxtaposes beauty of Easter against backdrop of war, symbolised by letter exchange.
Fade-in reflects on correspondence with friend, highlighting poignancy of his last letter before his death.
Serves as tribute to friendship, ephemeral nature of life, and enduring impact of war.
