The Falling LeavesMargaret Postgate Cole

By Megan Sheppard

The Falling Leaves

Today, as i rode by,I saw the brown leaves dropping from their tree

In a still afternoon,When no wind whirled them whistling to the sky,

But thickly, silently,They fell, like snowflakes wiping out the noon;

And wandered slowly thenceFor thinking of a gallant multitude

Which now all withering lay,Slain by no wind of age or pestilence,

But in their beauty strewedLike snowflakes falling on the Flemish clay.

Themes and Ideas

The main theme in this poem is war. The poem shows a woman's reaction to World War I

and was written in November 1915. While out for a ride, the sight of autumn leaves

falling makes her think of soldiers dying on the battlefields of Flanders.

This poem reflects the author’s perception of the tragedy of war, in which she both glorifies and undermines it.

Language and imagery ‘Brown leaves dropping from the trees‘ (Line 2)- Use of a metaphor- Referring to the deaths of the

soldiers- Suggests their deaths are

pointless, and not glorious or dramatic.

- The leaves remind Cole of soldiers dying because of the way they fall to the ground in the stillness.

“When no wind whirled them whistling to the sky.” (Line 4)- Alliteration- Had they been blown around in

the air, the effect would have been quite different.

- The word ‘sky‘, could perhaps be referring to heaven and glory.

- No mention of the numbers of leaves and describes them as falling ‘silently’ creates an eerie atmosphere and could imply they die quietly, without objection.

“Fell like snowflakes wiping out the noon.” (Line 6) - Use of a simile - comparing the

leaves to snowflakes, another image from nature.

- Suggesting that there were so many of them that they must have blocked out the light.

- However, it could also suggest that the men are unique and delicate but disappear when they hit the ground. This could mean that while the soldiers are beautiful in their glory, their deaths are quickly forgotten.

‘Slowly thence’ (line 7)- This could imply that Cole slowed her pace from that

moment on, as she began thinking about the soldiers dying in the war.

‘Gallant multitude’ (Line 8)- Referring to their bravery as well as to the large number killed.

Language and imagery “Which now all withering lay.” (Line 9)- Alliteration- The image conveys a sense of decay

and waste, contrasting with the bravery of the soldiers when they were alive.

‘Slain by no wind of age or pestilence’ (Line 10). - Uses wind as a metaphor,

taking another image from nature

- She says that the soldiers have not been killed because of old age or disease but due to the war.

In the second to last line of the poem Cole refers to the “beauty” of the soldiers, creating a contrast with the image of their bodies “withering” in line 9.

'In their beauty strewed' is the best example of both glorifying and undermining their deaths. “Beauty” implies something of value, but they are scattered carelessly in their death ('strewed‘).

The reference to their “beauty” implies that they were still very young when they died. The poem closes with a simile in which Cole again compares the dead soldiers to “snowflakes”. Snowflakes melt so

quickly, and the soldiers' lives were so short. This time the mention of the “Flemish clay” leaves no doubt that she is referring to the battlefields of Flanders.

Structure and form • The poem has 12 lines that alternate between long

and short, although there is more of a difference in length in the first half of the poem.

• Number of syllables: - Short lines = 6 - Long lines = 10 • The whole poem is just one sentence, and the ideas

are therefore closely linked.• This poem has a complicated rhyming pattern

[A,B,C,A,B,C,D,E,F,D,E,F].

Voice The narrator of this poem is Margaret Postgate Cole,

a spectator of the war. The effect of the voice is that it makes you see the

events of the war from another perspective and allows the reader to relate to the situation.

We get the impression that Margaret dislikes war and the idea of many men dying with little recognition and appreciation.

Audience

• I think the audience for this poem could be the nation of people who have been left at home, who are unaware of all the soldiers losing their lives in the war. Cole is trying to make her audience aware of the war and the lives being lost and forgotten.