The aim of this thesis consists in reading the poetry of Edward Thomas from an ecocritical perspective. As a lover of nature who died in World War I, his views on England, the country he felt he had to defend, are of particular interest when approaching his poetry.

The thesis is divided into six chapters, each looking at different aspects related to an ecocritical study of his poetry about England: the history of the pastoral mode and the English countryside in the first two chapters, the relations between the non-human and human in the third and fourth, and ultimately the roles of place, dwelling and home in the final two. In all of these chapters, close readings of Thomas’ poems are complemented by references to relevant ecocritical theories and related poets’ writings.

The conclusion will illustrate whether Edward Thomas’ poetry presents a uniform vision of England as a place of dwelling and existence, and consider to what extent his ideas may still be relevant today.