Poem Lights Out (Edward Thomas) Summary & Introduction

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Lights Out (Edward Thomas) Introduction

It is a very sweet and simple poem about sleep which has a supernatural character in its nature. It is an alluring and interesting thing. When is comes, one finds oneself almost senseless by its beautiful quality that it makes one totally forgetful. The poem has also a deeper meaning. On this second scale, it becomes a poem about death. Death has also the same quality of making one totally forgetful of all one's surroundings.

Lights Out (Edward Thomas) Summary

Sleep is a very important gift of nature. The poet finds sleep as a very deep and dense forest in which everyone of us has to lose his way whether at once (when the way is straight) or after a little time (when the way is zigzagging). Nobody can say "No" to the coming sleep. All the human activity comes to a stand still at the arrival of this element of nature. All the ways of men sink down into the dark deep forest of sleep.

All human passions like despair, love and ambition are lost equally before the sweetness of sleep. When sleep comes, one must leave at once the book (i.e., study) or the dearest face (i.e., beloved). All pleasure and pain ends at the arrival of sleep which is sweeter than all other sweet works. One enters into its realm in a mysterious way.

Sleep cannot be checked or resisted in any way. When it comes, it must come and must be welcomed. The leaves of the dark and deep forest of sleep seem to hang down lower and lower still and, as a result, they hide the human beings in their heavy shadow. Sleep must come at the appointed time and one, however busy, must go to sleep at its arrival, all one's business even in the middle if it so happens.

We can also find a deeper meaning in the poem by taking sleep as a simile or symbol of death. After-all sleep is known as a sister of death. When death comes, it must come. It cannot be postponed or resisted. When it comes, one has to leave all one's activities and business and go at once with it. It is equalizer. It makes good and bad die and everyone has to leave his loved ones to die. So, we may read the deeper meaning in the poem also.