As the team's head brass- Edward Thomas

As The Team’s Head Brass - Edward Thomas

As the team’s head-brass flashed out on the turn
The lovers disappeared `.
I sat among the boughs of the fallen elm
That strewed the angle of the fallow, and
Watched the plough narrowing a yellow square
Of charlock. Every time the horses turned
Instead of treading me down, the ploughman leaned
Upon the handles to say or ask a word,
About the weather, next about the war.
Scraping the share he faced towards the wood,
And screwed along the furrow till the brass flashed
Once more.
The blizzard felled the elm whose crest
I sat in, by a woodpecker’s round hole,
The ploughman said. ‘When will they take it away? ‘
‘When the war’s over.’ So the talk began –
One minute and an interval of ten,
A minute more and the same interval.
‘Have you been out? ‘ ‘No.’ ‘And don’t want to, perhaps? ‘
‘If I could only come back again, I should.
I could spare an arm, I shouldn’t want to lose
A leg. If I should lose my head, why, so,
I should want nothing more…Have many gone
From here? ‘ ‘Yes.’ ‘Many lost? ‘ ‘Yes, a good few.
Only two teams work on the farm this year.
One of my mates is dead. The second day
In France they killed him. It was back in March,
The very night of the blizzard, too. Now if
He had stayed here we should have moved the tree.’
‘And I should not have sat here. Everything
Would have been different. For it would have been
Another world.’ ‘Ay, and a better, though
If we could see all all might seem good.’ Then
The lovers came out of the wood again:
The horses started and for the last time
I watched the clods crumble and topple over
After the ploughshare and the stumbling team.

Structure- narrative poem, using Iambic pentameter which could be mimicking the sound of the horses hooves.

Pastoral imagery is used throughout to create a serene country setting. The “fallen elm” suggests something sad as the tree has died and “fallen”, this also reminds the reader of a fallen soldier that has died in battle. “Strewed” also suggests that it has fallen awkwardly and uncomfortably across the land emphasising the feeling of something sad. This juxtaposes the calm pastoral setting which also juxtaposes the war.

“The lovers disappear” this could be showing the loss of love and life in the war as so many loved ones dies. It could also be representing hope of new love and life and that even the war is going on there is still love in the world.

“Watched the plough narrowing a yellow square / Of charlock.” Charlock is a yellow weed, this could represent the bad unwanted aspects of their lives such as the war.

“So the talk began – / One minute and an interval of ten, / A minute more and the same interval.” the rhythm of the encounter is slow, punctuated by work. The repetition emphasises this. The slow rhythm gives the poem a relaxed unrushed feel to it.

“The blizzard felled the elm whose crest” from this line he stats using Iambic pentameter, possibly to mimic the 10 minutes between each section of the conversation.

“‘If I could only come back again” this shows the understanding that the possibility of dying in the war is very high. This is emphasised by the farmer talking about his friend dying “Only two teams work on the farm this year. / One of my mates is dead. The second day / In France they killed him.” As it was a personal friend it shows most people knew someone that died, also the emphasis on how quickly he was killed shows how common It was for soldiers to get killed straight away due to their lack of experience.

“If we could see all all might seem good.’” This suggests people are ignorant towards the world, perhaps the government in particular who keep the war continuing. It suggests that if they “see all” and become less ‘blind’ to the world it would be a better place as the fighting would stop.

The lovers reappear at the end of the poem, this again brings hope that there is still love in the world but it also seems sad as they have left the protection and life of the woods, and the man will probably go off to war.  

“I watched the clods crumble and topple over” this could represent the soldiers in war toppling over and dying.