Evacuee

EVACUEE

The slum had been his home since he was born;And then war came, and he was rudely tornFrom all he’d ever known; and with his case

Of mean necessities, brought to a placeOf silences and space; just boom of sea

And sigh of wind; small wonder then that heCrept out one night to seek his sordid slum,

And thought to find his way. By dawn he’d comeA few short miles; and cattle in their herdsGazed limpidly as he trudged by, and birds

Just stirring in first light, awoke to hearHis lonely sobbing, born of abject fearOf sea and hills and sky; of silent night

Unbroken by the sound of shout and fight.

By Edith

Pickthall

Life In WWI

During WWI people had to evacuate London. This was because London was a massive target for the Central Powers.

Bombings happened regularly, and this was to avoid too man fatalities.

This meant thousands of people had to flee to the country side.

We can only assume this is what was happening to the person in the poem.

Theme

This poem is set during World War I. It is about a male, who was forced to evacuate his slum. When he escaped to get home, he found his slum, however, it was not as he had left it. He stayed in the area until morning arrived, as he sobbed. This illustrates sadness and depression and makes the reader feel sympathy for him.

FeelingThis poem creates a very emotional bond with the reader and the writer. The reader follows the male in the poem through his short experience in the war, showing the hardship of the war, exposing the reality. I found that I could get a better understanding of the war for people in slums like this. As opposed to thinking of the people actually fighting in it, Pickthall takes a step back and shines a light on the civilians, completely innocent, yet suffering. Through this emotional contact, I find Pickthall creates a very emotional bond with the reader.

Poetic Technique

There is not very much poetic technique in this poem. There is rhyme at the end of each line and some subtle alliteration throughout.

Edith (Marjorie) Pickthall• Pickthall was born in 1883 in the west

London district of Gunnersbury • She had been born at a depressing time

of English history, only a few years before World War 1

• Pickthall’s mother was in the Royal Navy and her dad an electrical drafts man

• Her only brother died in 1894, when she was only eleven

• At this time Pickthall was going through depression, she used poetry for ventilating her distress

Later Life • Later, Pickthall and her family left to go to

Canada• Here she was soon thought to be “the best

Canadian poet of her generation”• Although Pickthall was born in England, her

father was Canadian• Pickthall returned to England in 1912 • Here she continued with her career as a

novelist, poet and librarian• Eight years after her return to England she

went back to Canada• She died April 22, 1922 aged 38 in Vancouver