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Thomas has a very distinctive eye for the miniature of nature, often overlooked by others. Explore his appreciation of the natural world in the poem ‘But These Things Also.’

Decent Essays

‘All the white things man mistakes/For earliest violets’
Thomas has a very distinctive eye for the miniature of nature, often overlooked by others. Explore his appreciation of the natural world in the poem ‘But These Things Also.’
But These Things Also is a poem that presents us with an alternative view of Winter and Spring. Similarities are drawn between the two seasons, and Thomas explains how the two are not separate entities, but instead merge into one another until they are inseparable. Thomas' connection with nature, and the time that he would spend immersing himself within it allowed him to develop an intense and unique view of Britain's countryside, as can be seen throughout much of his poetry. But These Things Also can be …show more content…

The structure that Thomas employs throughout But These Things Also is mirrored in This Is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong, as in both of the poems, Thomas uses punctuation to draw attention away from the rhyme scheme. In This Is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong, the punctuation forces the reader to read with the grammar and not the rhythm and the rhyme; thus focussing the reader's brain on the content, and not the surprisingly regular iambic pentameter. The metre of But These Things Also is not iambic pentameter, like This Is No Case of Petty Right or Wrong, however similarities are apparent between the two. Verse form is also an important element of But These Things Also. The entire poem is written in one long sentence, despite the regular attention to punctuation. One interpretation of this is that the poem flows into itself just like Winter flows into Spring. The lack of separation between the two seasons mirrors the lack of separation within nature. As Thomas suggests, there is no clear line between Winter and Spring, but rather a gradual ebb and flow as time passes. Thus, the verse form is reflective of the content of the poem. The poem has a loose rhyming pattern, which is not maintained throughout the poem. Although the rhyme is strong in some verses, for example 'on' and 'gone', it grows weaker in places, for example with 'violets'

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