Walter de la Mare is usually remembered for his much longer poem, “The Listeners” – and like that famous poem, in the short quatrain, “And So to Bed,” de la Mare leaves us wondering what unspoken thing happened before the action in the poem. For me, it is always so tempting to try to fill in the blanks…Composition and photograph by me. Have a good weekend!
5 comments
Comments are closed.
Illustrated Poetry 
…oh gee, this sounds beautiful but also so depressing!
LikeLike
I agree – it is a poem that takes a startling turn and captures the imagination!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonder if Tolkein knew this poem? Gollum was my first thought when I started to read the words…
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s an intriguing thought – I like it! The timing is roughly right in terms of dates! Every time I read this poem, the starkly dark turn of it stirs so many questions inside of me…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wonder…I definitely made the connection right away. And I agree, the contrast of light and dark are really effective.
I always think of de la Mare as a children’s writer, but obviously I need to dig deeper into his poetry.
LikeLike