Lights Out

Lights Out
by Edward Thomas

I have come to the borders of sleep,
The unfathomable deep
Forest where all must lose
Their way, however straight,
Or winding, soon or late;
They cannot choose.

Many a road and track
That, since the dawn’s first crack,
Up to the forest brink,
Deceived the travellers,
Suddenly now blurs,
And in they sink.

Here love ends,
Despair, ambition ends;
All pleasure and all trouble,
Although most sweet or bitter,
Here ends in sleep that is sweeter
Than tasks most noble.

There is not any book
Or face of dearest look
That I would not turn from now
To go into the unknown
I must enter, and leave, alone,
I know not how.

The tall forest towers;
Its cloudy foliage lowers
Ahead, shelf above shelf;
Its silence I hear and obey
That I may lose my way
And myself.

Lights Out Summary
Lights Out Popularity: Edward Thomas, a great English poet, novelist and essayist wrote 'Lights Out'. It was first published in 1917 and is a remarkable literary work that tackles the simple subject. the supremacy of the dream and how it pushes someone into an unknown realm. He also captures how everything becomes insignificant in the face of sleep.
"Lights Out" as representative of death: as this poem deals with the power of sleep, the poet also compares sleep with a deep, dark and dense forest, where late or early everyone can lose their way. He believes that it is a place where human emotions such as love, ambitions, and affections end. Also, it has an equal effect. on all its subjects when it approaches, the path that leads to the dream is mysterious, but it offers immense pleasure and tranquility to its travelers, so whoever chooses to walk the path willingly abandons it, using the metaphor of the dream, the poet It has beautifully sketched the process of death, which is inevitable. Each day brings us to the brink of death, where we must go alone to leave the worldly joys behind.
Major themes in Lights Out: Sleep power, death, acceptance and ambiguity are some of the main themes of the poem. The poet talked about sleep, which is as powerful and inevitable as death. Throughout the poem he speaks of entering the realm of sleep and losing oneself in the peace it offers. He overthrows all human interests and activities while submitting to his sweet temptations.
Analysis of literary devices in "Lights Out"
Literary devices are techniques that authors use to convey their ideas and thoughts and help readers to read the text in one understand deeper level. Edward Thomas also used some literary devices in this poem to show the power of sleep. Analysis of some of the literary means used in this poem has been given below.

Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds on the same line as the sound of / sh / in “Before Us, Shelf Above Shelf. ”
Images: Images are used to represent readers make you perceive things that affect your five senses. Edward has used vivid visuals that appeal to the eye, such as "I have reached the limits of sleep", "In front of me, shelf upon shelf" and "Many a street and lane".
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in a verse that does not end with a line break; Instead, it goes to the next line. Like
"This is where the sweeter sleep ends
Then tasks that are noblest."

Symbolism: Symbolism uses symbols to denote ideas and properties and to give them symbolic meanings that differ from literal meanings. “The limit of sleep” symbolizes the approach to death and “roads” and “tracks” are the symbols of life.
Metaphor: It is a phrase in which an implicit comparison is made between objects of different nature. The poet has used an expanded metaphor of 'sleep' throughout the poem and compared it to 'death'.
Paradox: It is a statement that is self-contradicting or seems silly, but possibly contains a hidden one. The poet used this device in the fourth line of the last paragraph. “I hear and obey its silence.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant tones in the same line as the tone of / s / in “This is where sleep ends, which is sweeter” and the tone of / l / in “All pleasure and all difficulties. “
Personification: Person The association consists in giving inanimate objects human qualities. For example, "The travelers fooled" as if the street were a person capable of fooling someone.
This brief literary analysis shows that Edward used these literary elements intelligently to discuss the sleep process.

Analyze poetic devices in "Lights Out "
Poetic and literary means are the same, but some are only used in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic means used in this poem.

Strophe: Stanza is a poetic form of a few lines. In this poem there are six stanzas each consisting of six lines.
Rhymic Scheme: The rhyme scheme that the entire poem follows is AABCCB.
Identical Rhyme: It refers to the repetition of the same words in the rhyming position. Edward used an identical rhyme in the third stanza, which has rhyming words. "Ends" and "Ends".
Near Rhyme: It is a kind of rhyme where either the vowel or consonant of stressed syllables are identical, like the rhyming words in the third stanza "anger", "noble", "bitter" "and" sweeter.
Quotes used
The following lines can be used when telling a story with mysterious elements. These lines can also be used to discuss personal experiences of visiting a strange and unfamiliar place
To the edge of the forest,
The travelers have been received,
Fast blurring now,
And they are sinking

Lift Every Voice and Sing Little Bo-Peep