“Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)” Summary

“Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)” Themes

• 

  Grief and Shock

  • See where this theme is active in the poem.
• 

  Hope and Consolation

  • See where this theme is active in the poem.

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)”

• Lines 1-4

  In the last letter that I had from France
  You thanked me for the silver Easter egg
  Which I had hidden in the box of apples
  You liked to munch beyond all other fruit.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 5-9

  You found the egg the Monday before Easter,
  And said, "I will praise Easter Monday now—
  It was such a lovely morning." Then you spoke
  Of the coming battle and said, "This is the eve.
  Good-bye. And may I have a letter soon."

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 10-14

  That Easter Monday was a day for praise,
  It was such a lovely morning. In our garden
  We sowed our earliest seeds, and in the orchard
  The apple-bud was ripe. It was the eve.
  There are three letters that you will not get.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

“Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)” Symbols

• 

  Eastertime

  • See where this symbol appears in the poem.

“Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Understatement

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Colloquialism

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Irony

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

“Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Last
• Easter Monday
• Eve
• Sowed

• • See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)” Speaker

“Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)”

More “Easter Monday (In Memoriam E. T.)” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Eleanor Farjeon's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.

  • The Real "E. T." — See a portrait of Edward Thomas (the "E. T." to whom this poem is dedicated) once owned by Farjeon.

  • Farjeon and Thomas — Read a short, heartbreaking article about Eleanor Farjeon's relationship with Edward Thomas—and her grief over his death.

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.