# And You, Helen explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Edward Thomas.

## What happens

The speaker reflects on what they would give to Helen if they possessed infinite wealth and choice, offering youth, truth, clarity, lands, waters, flowers, wine, children, and a better art. Ultimately, they wish to return to Helen her own self and the power to discern her desires in time, along with fair days and a resilient heart, and even themselves if they could find where their own self lies hidden and it proved kind.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Loss

The speaker's desire to give Helen youth, truth, and lost things reflects a deep love and a sense of loss for what has been taken or given away.

### Memory and Time

The poem grapples with the passage of time, the wish to restore what has been lost, and the desire to offer a future free from care.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who addresses Helen and contemplates what gifts to bestow.

### Helen

The recipient of the speaker's imagined gifts and the subject of the poem.

## Key lines

> And you, Helen, what should I give you? So many things I would give you Had I an infinite great store Offered me and I stood before To choose.

Helen, if I had unlimited treasures to pick from, I would give you countless gifts.

_The speaker opens by imagining a scenario of boundless choice and generosity toward Helen._

> I would give you back yourself, And power to discriminate What you want and want it not too late, Many fair days free from care And heart to enjoy both foul and fair, And myself, too, if I could find Where it lay hidden and it proved kind.

I would restore your true self and the ability to choose what you desire in time, along with carefree days and a resilient spirit, and even my own self if I could discover where it is hidden and it turned out to be gentle.

_The speaker's ultimate wish is to return Helen's identity and agency, and to offer their own self conditionally._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters/and-you-helen
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_5_se/chapters