Far

ewel
ltoBar
nandSt
ackandTr
eebyA.
E.
Houseman

ThePoet

 Bor
n:Mar
ch26,
1859,
Fockbur
y,Wor
cest
ershi
re
 Di
ed:
Apr
il30,
1936,
Cambr
idge

AlfredEdwar dHousman, betterknownasA. E.Housman, wasanEnglish

classicalschol arandpoetbornonMar ch26,1859,i
nFockbury,
Wor cestershire,Engl
and.Hewast heeldestofsevenchil
drenandlosthis
mot hertocanceronhi stwelfthbirt
hday.Housman'sfat
her,acountry
solici
tor,l
aterr emarri
ed,andtwoofhi ssibl
ingsbecamepr ominenti
nt hei
r
respectivefieldsDespiteini
ti
allystr
uggli
ngacademicall
y,Housman
eventuallyattendedOxf ordUniversi
tyandbecameasuccessf ulscholar
andpoet .
Housman'sliter
aryachi evement sincl
udet he
publi
cationoftwov ol
umesofpoet ryduringhisli
fetime, i
ncl udingthe
widel
yaccl ai
medAShr opshireLad.Hispoet r
yoftenexpr essedaRomant ic
pessi
mi sm inaspare, simplest yl
ethatresonatedwi t
hmanyr eaders.In
addit
iont ohispoetr
y,Housmanwasar enownedcl assical scholarand
publi
shedsev eralworksonanci entGreekandLat inl i
ter
at ure.Heexcel l
ed
i
nbot hhi spoetr
yandschol arshi
p,earni
nghi m aplaceamongt hegr eatest
scholar
sofal lt
ime.
Housman's
i
mpactandl egacyinthel i
terar
ywor l
dhav ebeensi gni
ficant.Hispoetry
cont
inuestobewi delyreadandadmi r
edf oritssi
mpl i
ci
t yandemot ional
dept
h.Manyl i
terar
yschol arsconsiderhimt obeoneoft hemosti nfl
uential
poet
soft he20thcentur yHisworkhasi nspiredcountl
esswr i
ters,
andhis
cont
ribut
ionstoclassicalscholar
shiphavehadal asti
ngi mpactont hefield.
Despitehissuccess,
Housmanremai
nedapri
vat
eandreservedi
ndiv
idual
throughouthi
slif
e.Hisl
egacy
,howev
er,
li
vesonthr
oughhisendur
ing
l
iterar
ycontri
buti
ons

Backgr
oundt
othepoem….
Farewel
ltoBarnandSt ackandTreebyA.E.Housman  descr
ibesa
tr
aumatizi
ngstoryoftwobr ot
hersandhowoneoft hem acci
dental
lymet
hi
sendinawheatf i
eldatthehandoftheot
her.A.E.Housmani soneoft
he
mostimportantpoetsofthe19thand20thcentur
ies.

St
anzaOne
“
Far
ewel
ltobar
nandst
ack 
andt
ree,

Far
ewel
ltoSev
ernshor
e.

Ter
ence,
looky
ourl
astatme,

ForIcomehomenomor
e.

Inthefirstli
nesof ‘
 Farewel ltoBarnandSt ackandTree’ 
thespeakerbegi ns
byutil
izingthel i
net hatlaterbecamet hetitl
e.Hebidsfarewellt
oabar n,
a
“st
ack,”meani ngaconi cal pil
eofhay(akaahay stack)
,andat ree.These
arespeci f
icimagesassoci atedwit
haspeci fi
cplace,t
he“ Sev
ernshor e”.
TheSev er ni
st helargestr iveri
ntheUKal ongwhi chmanyoft hemost
populatedcitiesaresi t
uat ed.Thisli
neisalsoanexampl eofalli
terat
ion
withther epetiti
onofwor dsbeginningwit
h“ s”.
 

Int
hethir
dl i
ne,thespeakeraddressesoneofhi sintendedli
st eners,
someonenamed“ Terence”.Heaskst hi
spersont otakealookathi m as
he’
snevergoingt ocomehomeaf terthi
smoment .Asthefir
stst anza
i
n ‘
Far
‘ ewelltoBarnandSt ackandTr ee’
 t
heselinesdot hei
rjobwel l
.There
i
sagreatdeal ofmy steryi
mbuedi nthem, si
mplybecausear eaderhasno
i
deawhot hechar act
er sar
eorwhati sdriv
ingthespeakeraway .Ishe
l
eav
ingwi
l
li
ngl
y?I
ssomeonef
orci
nghi
m?Theway

theli
nesar
ephrasedmakesitseem asifhe’
ssor
rytol
eav
e,butt
hisi
sthe
onlyhi
ntHousemenpresent
sthereaderwithsof
ar.

anaphor
a  f
– ar
ewel
l
 (del
ayi
nghi
sfar
ewel
l
,hei
snotwi
l
li
ngt
oleav
ebuthas
to)

anastr
ophe 
– l
ooky
ourlastatme 
(i
nver
sionofnat
ural
orderofwor
ds,
suggesti
nghi
shesi
tat
ionorconf
usi
on)

assonance 
– f
orIcomehomeno 
mor
e (
emphasi
zesabouthi
sdepar
tur
e)

enj
ambment  
–runonl i
ne(f
orcesr
eadert
ogot hroughthel
inest
oknow
whathappensnext
;incr
easespaceandsuspenseinthepoem)

al
l
iter
ati
on 
– sev
en 
shor
e

far
ewell
 (
goodbyei
noldEngl
ish)bi
ddinggoodbyetoinani
mateobjects
suggest
sthatheav
oidshumancontactsandtheyhav
eacl oseconnecti
on
tohisl
if
e.

Sev
ern 
–ist
hel
argestr
iveri
nUK

St
anzaTwo

“
Thesunbur
nsont
hehal
f-
mownhi
l
l,

Bynowt
hebl
oodi
sdr
ied;

AndMaur
iceamongstt
hehayl
i
esst
il
l

Andmykni
fei
sinhi
ssi
de.

I
nt hesecondst Far
anzaof‘ ewel
ltoBar
nandStackandTree’
 
thespeaker
goeson.Heinformsthereaderv
eryqui
ckl
yandemotionl
essl
ythat
someonehasdi ed.Amannamed“ Mauri
ce”i
samongstt
hehay.He“l
i
es
sti
l
l”.Ift
hisi
sn’
tbadenough,
thespeakeradmi
tst
hathi
s“kni
fei
sinhi
s
si
de” .
 

Wit
houtadoubt,
thi
sisthereasont
hespeakeri
sfeeli
ng.He’skil
l
edthi
s
man,f
orunknownreasons,
andmust ,
duetothepursui
tofthelaw,l
eave
hi
shome. 

Thefi
rstt
woli
nesoft
hisst
anzaareshocki
ng.Theycontr
astt
hewarmth,
heat
,andcol
oroft
hesun,t
othatoft
he“half
-mownhill
”andthedr
ied
bl
ood. 

t
act
il
eimagery
:sunbur
  nsonthehal
fmownhi
l
l 
(r
eaderf
eel
stheheatof
t
hesunwhichdri
edtheblood)

vi
sual
imager
y:bl
  oodi
sdr
ied/
Maur
icel
i
esst
il
lamongt
hehay
/kni
fei
nhi
s
si
de

personi
fi
cat
ion 
– sunburns 
(i
ttoohaswordplay,i
fweput 
son 
i
nst
ead
of 
sun,i
timpli
esthesuff
erandgriefoft
hebrotherwhoki
l
ledhi
sbrot
her
)

met
aphor
  sunbur
–  ns 
(i
nmet
aphor
ical
lev
elsunbur
nsmeanst
hemi
dday
)

symbol 
– halfmownhil
l
,blood 
(halfmownsuggestst
hatt
heboyshav
e
complet
edonl yapar
tofthei
rli
ves,oneisdeadbynowandot
herhas
rui
nedhisli
fe,bl
oodi
sasy mbol t
odeath)

euphemi
sm – Mauri
ceamongstthehayliesst
il
l/mykni
feisinhi
s
si
de (
Theef
fectofdeat
handkil
li
ngisreducedtoimpl
ythatthebr
otherhas
committ
edthecri
meunint
enti
onall
y,herepent
soverhi
swork)

anast
rophe 
– Maur
iceamongstt
hehayl
i
esst
il
l.(
showshi
srel
uct
ancet
o
rev
ealhiscr
ime)

anaphor
a  and 
–  (showsur
gency
)

enj
ambment
 –3rd 
and4th 
l
ine(
for
cesr
eadert
oreadt
henextl
i
nequi
ckl
yto
r
esol
veapr
obl
em)her
ereaderf
indsoutwhoki
l
ledMaur
ice.

al
l
iter
ati
on 
– hal
fmown 
hil
l

possessi
vepr
onoun 
–my(
showst
hatheadmi
tshi
scr
ime)

St
anzaThr
ee

“
Mymot
hert
hinksusl
ongaway
;

‘
Tist
imet
hef
iel
dwer
emown.

Shehadt
wosonsatr
isi
ngday
,

To-
nightshe’
l
lbeal
one.

Thethir
dst anzaof ‘
Far
  ewel ltoBarnandSt ackandTree’ cont
inuesthe
speaker’
st ale.Hedescribeshi smotherandherperceptionoft heday.Wit
h
thesedetailsthespeaker’scr i
mebecomesev enmor edramatic.Itt
urnsout
thatMauricewashi sbr other.Hismotherisgoingtobeexpect inghertwo
sonstocomehome“ To-night”buti
nstead“she’l
lbealone”.Thespeaker
appearstobewel l
awar eoft heconsequencesofhi sactions.
 

Juxt
aposi
ti
on 
isusedagaini
nthesel
i
nesasthespeakerr
ecal
lshowthe
twoweremeanttomowt hel
awnbutinst
ead,
thedayendedinmurderand
l
oss. 

dramat
ici
rony
  mymot
–  hert
hinksusl
ongaway .
 (
readerandt
henarr
ator
knowswhathasr
eal
l
yhappenedbutmotherdoesnotknowaboutthe
tr
agedy
)

wordpun – son 
(sun;
son canbereplacedwit
hthewordsunthatgiv
esa
sensetoo,motherhadtwo suns 
toenlight
enherl
i
febutaf
terthi
sincident
herli
feisgoingt
obef i
ll
edwi t
hdarkness)

sy
mbol
 
–ni
ght(
nighti
sasy
mbol
forhar
dshi
psordanger
)

j
uxt
aposi
ti
on 
–theywer
etomowt
hel
awnbutoneki
l
ledt
heot
her
./she
hadt
wosonsatr
isi
ngday
,to-
nightshe’
l
lbeal
one

subj
uncti
ve 
–wer
e(showst
hei
nabi
l
ityori
mpr
obabi
l
ityofsomet
hingt
o
happen)

met
aphor
  r
– i
singday
 (r
efer
stot
hemor
ning)

Possessi
vePronoun –my(Possessivenat
ureisshownbypossessi
ve
pr
onoun;thi
smi ghtbet
heactualcauseforhi
ssuddenimpul
setokil
lhi
s
br
other)

St
anzaFour

“
Andher
e’sabl
oodyhandt
oshake,

Andoh,
man,
her
e’sgood-
bye;

We’
l
lsweatnomor
eonscy
theandr
ake,

Mybl
oodyhandsandI
.

Thestorycont i
nuesintot
hef our
thstanza.Thespeakerl
ooksathi
shand,
holdsi
toutf orhisfr
iend,
andsay s“here’
sabloodyhandtoshake”
.
Whetheritiscoveredinbloodornot,itdr
ewbloodandl i
keMacbet
h,i
s
stai
nedwi t
ht he 
act.
 

Fi
nal
l
y,i
nthesecondl
i
ne,
itappear
sthespeakeri
sget
ti
ngemot
ional
,orat
l
eastali
ttl
edist
ressedabouthi
ssi
tuati
on.Hemov esthroughhi
swords
unevenl
y,say
ing“Andoh,man,her
e’sgood-
bye”
.Itissinki
ngint
hathe
real
l
yhast ol
eave,i
t’
stheend. 

From agoodbyetohi
slist
ener,hesaysgoodby
etotheli
fehehadbefor
e.
His“bl
oodyhands”arenolongergoingt
o“sweat…onscyt
heandrake”
toget
her.Hi
sli
feisabouttochangedramati
cal
ly.
 

metaphor
  bl
–  oodyhand 
(Hei
ntr
oduceshi
shandsar
est
ainedwi
thdeat
h;
hi
scrime)
i
mager
y –bl
oodyhand

commasandpauses 
–showst
hathei
sget
ti
ngemot
ional
.

St
anzaFi
ve

“
Iwi
shy
oust
rengt
htobr
ingy
oupr
ide,

   
Andal
ovet
okeepy
oucl
ean,

AndIwi
shy
oul
uck,
comeLammast
ide,

   
Atr
aci
ngont
hegr
een.

Inthefi
fthst anzaof FarewelltoBarnandSt ackandTr ee,
’ 
hespeakst othe
l
ist
ener,Terence, tel
l
ingt hem thathewi sheshim well.Hehopest hi
sot her
manwi llf
ind“ alovetokeepy ouclean”.Thisisli
kel
yar ef
erenceto
romanticlove, orper
hapsapassi oninlife,
tokeephi m outoftroubl
e.
Obv i
ously
, t
hespeakerdi dnothav ethisfeaturei
nhisl i
fetokeephim clean.
Theuseoft hewor d“clean”inthisli
neshoul dbenot ed.Hewoul dli
kehi s
handstobecl ean,butthey’r
ebl oody.There’
snot hi
nghecandot owi pe
awayhisdeednow.  

I
t’
sclearthespeakerwantsnothi
ngbutaposit
ivefutureforhisfr
iend.But
i
nwishinghim so,hei
scontrasti
nghi
sownpainfulfuturewithahappyand
pr
osperousone.Inthethi
rdli
neherefer
ences“Lammast ide”.Lammast i
de
i
sahol
i
daycel
ebr
atedonAugust1stt
omar
kthewheathar
vest
. 

anaphora 
–and(increasest
hepaceoft
hepoem,
thenar
rat
orwant
sto
fi
nishthestor
yquickl
y)

j
uxtaposi
ti
on 
– br
ingyoupr
ide/l
ovetokeepyouclean 
(hecont
rast
shi
s
st
ainedli
fewi
thhishopehi
sfri
endtohaveacleanli
fe)

sy
mbol
 
–gr
een(
greensy
mbol
i
zesbet
terl
i
fe)

Lammast
ide 
–ahol
i
daycel
ebr
atedonAugust1st 
tomar
kthewheat
har
vest

St
anzaSi
x

“
Longf
ormet
her
ick 
wil
lwai
t,

Andl
ongwi
l
lwai
tthef
old,

Andl
ongwi
l
lst
andt
heempt
ypl
ate,

Anddi
nnerwi
l
lbecol
d.”

Inthel astf
ourl i
nesof‘ Farewellt
oBar nandStackandTree,’ 
thespeaker
tel
lst heli
stenerthatthe“ ri
ck”orstackofhayisgoingtowai tforhi
m.I twil
l
bet hereinthef i
eldforevernow, ashishandswillnev
ertouchi tagain.The
samecanbesai df ort
he“ fold,
”the“emptyplat
e”athismot her’ski
tchen
table,andthef oodont hatpl at
e.Itwil
lsoon“becold”
.A“ f
old”isa
referencetoapenorencl osureinwhichanimalsarekept.
 

anaphor
a  andl
–  ong,
and 
(emphasizeshi
sgr
iefandhi
srel
uct
ancet
oleav
e
thepl
acewherehegr
ewandfamil
iarto)

i
mager
y –empt
ypl
ate

sy
mbol
 
–empt
ypl
ate(
suggest
shi
suncer
tai
norempt
yli
fei
nthef
utur
e)

t
hesi
mpl
efutur
efor
m wi
l
l 
–hasaposi
ti
ver
emar
kthatonedayhehopes
t
ocomebackhome