T E Hulme: Autumn

T E Hulme, English poet, is one of the first poets to use the new style of poetry Imagism. He actively sought to re-define the standards of poetry. Hulme  wrote about 25 poems totaling some 260 lines, of which the majority were possibly written between 1908–1910. Hulme died in 1917 in Belgium during WW1. He was 34 at the time of his death. The Imagists lost an influential poet at an early age (just 34 years old).

1) AUTUMN
2) A touch of cold in the Autumn night— This line serves to immediately draw the reader into the image, and how the narrator was feeling. The simple, but evocative nature of the statement also lays the groundwork for Imagism, which sought to focus on the clarity of visuals and their significance.
3) I walked abroad- This line keeps the setting intentionally vague, focusing only on the images
4) And saw the ruddy moon lean over a hedge
5) Like a red-faced farmer- Lines 4 & 5 describe a red harvest moon, emphasizes the rural setting of this poem, using the farmer as a point of reference, a connection city-dwellers are less likely to make than if they lived around farmers their whole life. Also, given that this poem is explicitly set during Autumn, this is also the time in which farmers are making most of their money, at harvest time. The appearance of the farmer-like moon may symbolize the passing of the seasons.
6) I did not stop to speak, but nodded- Here, the narrator is touched deeply by the sights of the Autumn night, but keeps it to himself, leaving his revelation ambiguous.
7) And round about were the wistful stars- Wistful usually implies longing, or regret, but it’s unclear why the stars are such. Different stars often appear at different times in the year due to the rotation of the earth around the sun, so these stars may be “longing” for a different time in the year or in their own lifespan.
8) With white faces like town children- no plot or resolution in this poem, just silent contemplation, leading to it being termed the very first Imagist poem. This line here clearly brings to mind white stars shining in the night sky,