Skip to content

Essay Competition 2024/2025 – Results Page and competition details

Edward Thomas Fellowship Year 12 and 13 Essay Competition 2024/2025 – RESULTS PAGE

Welcome to the 2024/2025 Essay Competition Results Page and original competition details

Now in its third year, the Edward Thomas Essay Competition continues to grow thanks to the enthusiasm and engagement of both students and teachers.

This year we invited year 12 and 13 students to write a close reading of Thomas’ “Gone, gone again”. We received over 100 entries altogether, from 40 different schools, which included a spread of schools across the UK. We were delighted to receive so many entries – indeed, the number of entries nearly tripled from 36 in 2023/24, and the number of participating schools more than doubled from 15 in 2023/24.

The quality of the essays in response to “Gone, gone again” was high, and given the number of strong entries the shortlist was extended from ten to 12 this year.

Congratulations to the following students and our thanks to everyone who submitted an entry this year:

Winner:

George D, Whitgift School

Prize: £100, essay published in Edward Thomas Fellowship newsletter, one year’s free print and digital membership of Edward Thomas Fellowship

Runners up:

Rebeca C, Woodhouse College

Zihan L, St Michael’s School, Llanelli

Prize: £50 each

Shortlisted:

Emilia M-H – St Paul’s Girls’ School

Harry C – The Leys School

Helena M – Wycombe Abbey

Maia B-A – Strathallan School

Maya E – London Academy of Excellence, Stratford

Milly B – The Henrietta Barnett School

Ricky Y – Manchester Grammar School

Sophie C – Colchester County High School for Girls

Tilda S – The Leys School

Prize: All 12 shortlisted students listed in Edward Thomas Fellowship newsletter

All candidates

Prize: one-year free digital membership of Edward Thomas Fellowship, which includes newsletters, discounted events admission, information on competitions and more

Judges’ comments

This year’s shortlist was decided by the Edward Thomas Fellowship’s Essay Competition committee, whilst the winner and runners up were chosen by leading scholar of Edward Thomas, Professor Guy Cuthbertson.

The Fellowship’s judging committee commented:

“George D’s winning essay was a well-written and thoroughly engaged analysis, which provided a strong and coherent reading.”

“Rebeca C’s submission demonstrated a very good sense of the poem as a whole, with much thoughtful consideration of detail.”

“Zihan L wrote a very thoughtful response, which engaged with the implications of Thomas’ choice of language.”

“In general, the essays from the students were strong. Setting a somewhat less well-known but nonetheless powerful Thomas poem produced a range of thoughtful and original responses. The strongest responses focused on the detail of form and language and provided an overall reading based on this analysis.”

Professor Guy Cuthbertson said:

“The winner was written in a mature style with sensitivity and attention to detail, and it understands that the poem is more than a ‘war poem’. The focus on ageing, memory and how time is experienced, was a sensible approach and it is an important theme in Thomas’s poetry and prose – ‘while nature renews in cycles, human life is linear, with each moment gone forever’ and ‘human experience is haunted by memories of the past’.

The runners up were also well-written and showed good knowledge of the poem. Credit to Zihan L for understanding that ‘Blenheim oranges’ are not oranges but apples.

Congratulations to all three – excellent work and I hope that they will continue their study of literature by taking English Literature at university.”

Participating schools

We are grateful to the students and teachers from our 38 participating schools. Each school received one year’s free print membership of the Edward Thomas Fellowship. This year’s participating schools were:

– The Leys School (19 entries)

– City of London Freemen’s School; Strathallan School (10)

– London Academy of Excellence, Stratford (6)

– Woodhouse College (5)

– Colchester County High School for Girls; Winchester College (4)

– Highgate School; St Paul’s Girls’ School; St Peters School, York; Wycombe Abbey (3)

– Abingdon School; Concord College; Harris Westminster Sixth Form; Nonsuch High School for Girls; Pate’s Grammar School; Sale Grammar School; St Albans High School for Girls; St Catherine’s School, Bramley; Yarm School (2)

– Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School; Benenden School; Clitheroe Royal Grammar Sixth Form; Downside School; Durham Johnston Comprehensive School; Godalming College; Haberdashers Elstree Schools; Hills Road Sixth Form College; Imperial Maths School; King Edward’s School, Stratford Upon Avon; Leicester Grammar School; Manchester Grammar School; North London Collegiate School; Nottingham High School; St. Michael’s School, Llanelli; The Liverpool Blue Coat School; The Henrietta Barnett School; The Tiffin Girls’ School; Tiffin School; Whitgift School (1).

Thank you to all the new schools that participated, and special mentions to Highgate School and St Catherine’s School, Bramley for entering the competition for three years running, and to St Paul’s Girls’ School, The Tiffin Girls’ School, Winchester College and Wycombe Abbey for their second year of entering.

We hope all schools will enter again next year.

We would be very grateful for your feedback on the Essay Competition – please email your thoughts to Robert Woolliams (r.e.woolliams@live.co.uk).

—————————————————————————————————————————–

The winning essay, by George D:

In Gone, Gone Again, Edward Thomas explores the conflict between memory, time, and the inevitability of loss, illustrating how the cyclical passage of time erodes what once seemed permanent. The poem portrays loss as central to the human experience, reflecting on how it shapes both personal and collective memory. Thomas struggled with depression and his wartime experiences. At its core, this work reflects the struggle between the continuation of nature and the personal ache of loss, evoking a sense of inevitability which becomes a burden for the speaker and, by extension, the reader.

Thomas explores how the cyclical passage of time creates a sense of lost opportunity with each summer fading into the next. The poem opens with the stark declaration of “Gone, gone again.” The repetition of “gone” and the resigned tone underscore the speaker’s passive acceptance of life’s repetition, while “again” reflects how each new season or memory fades as the previous ones did. This reflection on the passage of time through changing seasons, particularly the return of summer, conveys futility, portraying loss as an inescapable reality. The acknowledgment that “May, June, July, / And August gone” frames these months as markers of time, significant only for their passing. Rather than inspiring hope or life, summer’s arrival reinforces this continuity with returning seasons reflecting loss. This is depicted as a symptom of the emptiness left behind, framing the poem as an exploration of personal and collective loss. The metaphor of rivers flowing past “the empty quays” evokes the relentless progression of time, sweeping away moments and memories, indifferent to human sentiment. Here, rivers represent the flow of time passing “quays”, dry of experience evoking sorrow as the speaker contemplates how life’s vibrancy is really being marked by emptiness.

Natural imagery and juxtaposition highlight the contrast between nature’s regeneration and humanity’s irreversible loss. Thomas uses the imagery of “the harvest rain” and “the Blenheim oranges / Fall grubby from the trees” to evoke summer’s lushness tinged with nostalgia. The fruit connotes childhood innocence, but as it falls, dirtying, it is used as a sign of deterioration. This childhood nostalgia contrasts the “Outmoded, dignified, / Dark and untenanted” house, a vivid image of decay. While nature cycles again, human experience is haunted by memories of the past. Thomas subverts the typical association of summer with renewal by pairing it with despair, underscoring fleeting hope and the prevalence of loss over

joy. The images of fields and homes once vibrant symbolize both personal and communal memories, revealing how loss transcends individual grief and resonates within society.

Using the motif of the house, the speaker reflects on the decay of a once-thriving house symbolizing their deep sense of loss and the fragility of memory. The assertion that “not one pane to reflect the sun” symbolises shattered dreams and broken connections, with the speaker grappling with these painful remnants. Throwing stones at the windows emphasizes time’s destructive force, as sharp, shattered glass connotes both danger and pain. Once symbols of life and vitality, the broken windows now suggest decays inevitable. The act’s casual destructiveness highlights the certainty of deterioration, even as youthful innocence inadvertently contributes to the sorrow. There lies a contradictions between the boy’s youth, the aggression of the act and the destruction of the outcome. The broken windows serve as a metaphor for the fragility of memory and the impossibility of keeping the past intact no matter how hard you try.

The speaker identifies with the decaying house, sensing in it a reflection of his own existence. Though alive, he feels emotionally distant, defined more by losses than by what remains. The house, intact yet devoid of life, mirrors the speaker’s own hollow vitality. Thomas’s experience in World War I profoundly shaped his view of the human condition, with decays impact on memory central to the poem. He explains how “In its beds have lain / Youth, love, age, and pain” suggesting every phase of life has passed through the space, leaving echoes of joy and sorrow. The juxtaposition of life’s vibrancy with absence illustrates how memory can shift from a comforting source to a painful reminder of the past. As the speaker observes, “I am something like that; / Only I am not dead,” he acknowledges survival within loss, recognizing his deep connection to the emptiness symbolized by the house.

Fundamentally, through motifs of absence, decay, and natural imagery, the poem conveys a profound sense of melancholy and futility, as the speaker wrestles with life’s eroding vitality. Thomas’s contrasts between natural renewal and human decay drive home the poem’s message: while nature renews in cycles, human life is linear, with each moment gone forever. The recurrence of seasons, typically comforting, here becomes a poignant reminder of what’s lost. The closing lines, “I am something like that,” capture the speaker’s identification with the house. A structure that, like him, endures yet is hollowed by time and loss.

The following essays (in no particular order) are from the two runners-up:

By Rebeca C

Edward Thomas’s poem “Gone, Gone Again” is a poignant reflection on time, memory, and loss, written during a period when the world was ravaged by World War I. The poem is imbued with personal and historical grief, combining a meditative exploration of the passage of time with the heavy shadow of war. In this essay, I will closely analyse the poem, examining how Thomas uses structure, imagery, and tone to evoke a sense of inevitable loss and fading, as well as the interplay between personal memory and national tragedy.

The poem’s primary idea—that time is cyclical—is reflected in its structure. The opening words, “gone, gone again,” reaffirm the relentless advance of time. This repetition serves as a constant reminder of transience, emulating the sound of a clock or the changing seasons. Thomas enumerates the months, “May, June, July,” highlighting how spring gives way to summer and summer to fall, with each month “gone” as soon as it appeared. This beat conveys the inevitable passage of time, which goes unnoticed, evoking melancholy. The erratic rhyme scheme enhances this impression; phrases like “And August gone, / Again gone by” produce an echo, suggesting the speaker’s attempt to hold onto something that cannot be grasped. The loose meter and unrhymed lines give it a conversational quality, as though the speaker is lamenting the loss of time to a confidant, drawing the reader into an intimate reflection.

Thomas’s imagery is straightforward but powerful, capturing the deterioration that comes with time. The rivers running by, and the “empty quays” conjure up images of motion and emptiness—a world where life exists but is lifeless and meaningless. The quays, once busy, are now empty, reflecting the speaker’s existence characterized by absence rather than presence. The river metaphor emphasizes time as an uncontrollable force that erases everything significant, leaving only the remembrance of the past. One of the poem’s distinctive images is of “Blenheim oranges,” described as falling “grubby from the trees.” These formerly prized fruits, now disheveled and neglected, reflect the speaker’s own sense of deterioration. Once linked to youth and energy, they now symbolize aging and the loss of beauty. The “harvest rain,” typically a sign of abundance, emphasizes decline by hastening the descent of the overripe fruit.

The speaker’s memories of “when I was young” and “when the lost one was here” reveal the poem’s personal side. These lyrics hint at profound personal loss, possibly the passing of a loved one or the end of a brighter period of life. The line “When the war began, to turn young men to dung” captures the juxtaposition of individual recollection with the larger historical backdrop of World War I. This graphic, visceral image breaks the sentimental tone, highlighting war’s misery. The word “dung,” which reduces human life to waste, underscores the outcome of violence and destruction. Thomas’s ability to blend personal and universal sorrow is notable. While the speaker’s grief is deeply personal, it resonates with a larger, shared sadness. The old mansion, described as “dark and untenanted,” symbolizes the speaker’s inner loneliness and the broader sense of loss experienced during the war. Once bustling with life, the mansion now appears deserted, with “grass growing instead of the footsteps of life.” This image of desolation symbolizes the absence of the many young men who never returned from war.

In the final verse, the speaker compares himself to the old house, saying, “I am something like that; only I am not dead.” This analogy reveals his awareness of aging and mortality. Like the house, he has known youth, love, and suffering; however, unlike it, he continues to exist, albeit in a world that feels increasingly empty. The repeated phrase “I am something like that” highlights the connection between the speaker and the dilapidated house. Yet, the assertion that he is “still breathing and interested in the house that is not dark” carries a hint of defiance. This suggests that, while he accepts death and loss as inevitable, he remains engaged with life, finding meaning in the world around him, however bleak. The final image of the “schoolboys” who have “broken every one” of the windowpanes offers a glimpse of youthful vitality, yet also serves as a reminder of destruction and the loss of innocence.

“Gone, Gone Again” emerges as a poignant meditation on aging, loss, and the inevitable course of deterioration. The poem captures the spirit of a world irreparably altered by loss and battle through its straightforward yet compelling imagery, exploration of mortality, and blend of historical and personal sorrow. Edward Thomas’s skill in fusing the personal with the universal makes the poem a moving reflection on the human condition, illuminating the shared experience of time’s unrelenting march forward.

By Zihan L

Edward Thomas’ poem ‘Gone, Gone Again’ begins with a characteristic sense of loss. The months of ‘May, June, July’ and ‘August gone’ seem to melt away, silently escaping through the hands of the speaker. Whilst the portrayal of the passage of time appears somewhat gentle, with the listing of months falling in a lulling rhythm, it also seems relentless, as Thomas constantly repeats the word ‘gone’, each repetition newly emphasising the inexorable quality of time disappearing as it passes by.

There is also a strong awareness of the absence of people in this poem. In the second stanza, the quay is ‘empty’, and in the third, ‘Blenheim oranges fall grubby’ from their trees. These apples may previously have been picked by people, but are now left to age and decompose on their own. Perhaps this is where war enters the poem. Often in his work, Thomas writes of countrymen who are removed from their pastoral environments to fight in war. With it being farming season, seen in the passing of the summer months and the mention of ‘harvest rain’, a rather striking image forms of entire apple orchards left unmanned as men fight elsewhere, highlighting the displacement of rural communities in wartime.

It is uncertain who or what the ‘lost one’ in the fourth stanza is, but their loss seems to have been a personal one for Thomas in the past, amid the extensive loss of life from the war in the present. The explicit reference to ‘when the war began’ in the final couplet of the fourth stanza is powerfully blunt, presenting the graphic imagery of ‘young men’ turned to ‘dung’. Thomas grappled with deciding whether to enlist into the war as a mature married man, and his awareness of the reality of modern warfare as a killing machine is clear here. The brutal idea of humans turned into waste also juxtaposes the previously pastoral imagery of ‘rivers’ and ‘Blenheim oranges’, signaling a slight shift in tone in the poem.

The fifth stanza begins with a command, ‘Look at the old house’, directly addressing the reader and forcing the abandoned house into the centre of view. Thomas calls the house both ‘outmoded’ and ‘dignified’, a contradiction which may reflect the dignity of the English way of life just passing; perhaps the house stands proudly in a way only something reminiscent of another time could. The description of the house being so ‘dark and untenanted’ that ‘grass’ grew there instead of the ‘footsteps of life’ contributes to the sense of absence already present in the poem. The repossession of human spaces by nature is a common theme in Thomas’ poetry, as a poet conscious of the complex relationship between man and nature. The use of ‘footsteps’ as a measure of life also seems typical of Thomas, who loved to walk.

The experience of all worldly things, ‘friendliness and strife’, is illustrated by Thomas through the use of ‘beds’, where ‘youth, love, age, and pain’ have all lain. Just as the cyclical nature of seasons is continuous, the beds of a house witness a regular cycle, where we get up in the morning and go to bed at night, having experienced all the ‘love’ and ‘pain’ of the day. Beds would also have been where most people were born and died at the time, hence another stable point in a cycle of beginning and ending.

The repetition of ‘I am something like that’ as Thomas identifies with the house connects the house’s sense of loss and abandonment with himself. It marks a change in the poem from passive observation to active participation, as the seventh stanza then speaks of Thomas’ own human experience, ‘breathing and interested’, in a ‘house that is not dark’, a possible metaphor for being alive. Though he feels ‘something’ like the house, deserted and overgrown, he is still ‘interested’, perhaps determined to engage with the ‘youth, love, age, and pain’ of life listed earlier, bringing a rare sense of optimism into the poem.

Thomas returns to a more despondent tone in the final stanza, introducing the stark image of the house with all its windows broken. There is not a single ‘pane to reflect the sun’ left for the ‘schoolboys to throw at’, and this depiction of meaningless destruction again contributes to the overarching feeling of loss that the poem begins with. The reader cannot help but connect the image with the senseless loss of life in battle.

‘Gone, Gone Again’ is a war poem which constructs a sense of the conflict not through multiple direct references to death and suffering, but through the losses and absences imbued in its lines. Some material losses occur, as apples rot without having been rightfully enjoyed, and the old house lies in disrepair, yet the reader is constantly aware of the largest loss taking place in the background; the loss of youth at war. Thomas not only depicts the months incessantly slipping by, but the soldiers, also ‘gone, gone again’. However, the optimism felt at the end of the seventh stanza cannot be easily forgotten. Even though the poem ends with a sobered finality, there remains a sense of the human spirit enduring solidly as long as the house still stands, despite it no longer having windows.

——————————————————

Introduction to the 2024/2025 Essay Competition

The Edward Thomas Fellowship’s principal aim is to keep the poet’s work widely read and enjoyed. The Fellowship is delighted to be running the competition for the third consecutive year, with a £100 cash prize for students currently in Years 12-13.

The essay competition is an excellent opportunity for you to explore a poem by one of English Literature’s most celebrated poets and thereby deepen your understanding of early twentieth century poetry. If you’re thinking about studying English at university, it’s also a great way to enrich your UCAS application.

You can find the winning entry and shortlisted candidates for last year’s competition here:  https://edward-thomas-fellowship.org.uk/close-reading-competition-2023-2024- competition-details-and-winners/

 

Edward Thomas’s poem “Gone, gone again”…

 … was written in 1916 during World War I

… illustrates the effects of WWI on the English home front

… contains themes such as the death of young men in WWI, the passing of time, aging and loneliness.

 

Edward Thomas…

 … is regarded as an important WWI poet

… wrote 144 poems between 1914-1917 before his death in action in WWI

… takes a different approach to other WWI poets such as Wilfred Owen

… is concerned with the natural environment – highly relevant to discussions about climate change today.

Key Entry Details

The Poem: You can read “Gone, gone again” on page 3 of this form.

Word count: 500 words minimum, 800 words maximum (please note: entries may be up to 10% above the maximum word count – any words above 880 words will be disregarded).

Deadline for submitting entry: 5pm, Friday 29th November 2024 – now passed

Format: Please include your full name, the name of your school and the word count at the top of your entry document. Please use a clear font with font size 12 or above.

Results announced: Monday 3rd February 2025

 

Prizes

  • First: £100, publication in Edward Thomas Fellowship newsletter, one-year free print and digital membership of Edward Thomas Fellowship*
  • Two Runners up: £50
  • Shortlist: shortlisted students named in Edward Thomas Fellowship newsletter and on social media pages (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)
  • All candidates: one-year free individual digital membership of Edward Thomas Fellowship* and one-year free print membership for your school

*Edward Thomas Fellowship membership includes newsletters, discounted events admission, information on competitions and more.

 The Judges

This year the competition will be judged by leading scholar of Edward Thomas, Professor Guy Cuthbertson.

Some Tips

Your entry should:

  • Focus on a close reading of “Gone, gone again”
  • Explore what you find interesting about “Gone, gone again”
  • Look closely at what is special and distinctive about “Gone, gone again”
  • Have a clear sense of the poem as a whole, with discussion moving between the detail and the bigger picture
  • Be written in a clear and simple style, using technical literary vocabulary when

Gone, gone again

Gone, gone again, 
May, June, July, 
And August gone, 
Again gone by,

Not memorable
Save that I saw them go, 
As past the empty quays 
The rivers flow.

And now again,
In the harvest rain, 
The Blenheim oranges
Fall grubby from the trees,

As when I was young –
And when the lost one was here – 
And when the war began
To turn young men to dung.

Look at the old house,
Outmoded, dignified, 
Dark and untenanted,
With grass growing instead

Of the footsteps of life,  
The friendliness, the strife; 
In its beds have lain  
Youth, love, age, and pain:

I am something like that; 
Only I am not dead,
Still breathing and interested 
In the house that is not dark: –

I am something like that:
Not one pane to reflect the sun, 
For the schoolboys to throw at – 
They have broken every one.