The man he killed Flashcards
Who was Thomas Hardy?
Victorian novelist and poet
Realism and romanticism
Highly critical
Victorian society
openly against the Second Boer War.
How does this poem link to conflict?
conflict in wartime
reality of conflict
memories of conflict.
What are the two themes Thomas Hardy explore?
Theme 1 - The Futility of War=pointless
strong anti-war message
colloquialisms=slang.
what are the two themes that Thomas Hardy explore?
Theme 2 Dehumanisation
Neither the speaker nor the man that he killed are given a name – their identity has been removed.
This represents the idea that they do not matter to those in power.
How is the poem structured?
Dramatic monologue
Stanza 5 sums up the futility of war and its effect on those doing the fighting.
How is the poem structured?
“Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down”
in 1902, when the poem was written, Hardy expected the human race to have come up with a better, more humane, and more rational way to resolve disputes.
WHat are the terms used to describe how punctuation is used in the poems?
Enjambment/ Caesura
Enjambment and caesura are used to affect the rhythm and pace of the poem, and to emphasise meanings.
At the end of stanza 4 in order to slow the pace of the poem, and leave the reader paused on the idea of there being little reason for the two men to kill one another both are used.
What quote could I use to show this?
Was out of work — had sold his traps — No other reason why.”
Full stop is end stopping
The dashes create a stuttering affect.
Why is repetition and fillers used in the poem.
Words are repeated, and fillers are inserted, to show the speaker struggling to think about why he had to kill the man.
In stanza 3, ‘because’ is repeated over a line break, buying the speaker thinking time.
Why does Hardy use colloqualism? what quotes show this?
Enables the reader to view the speaker and his foe as ordinary men.
‘Wet/ Right many a nipperkin’, implying that in a different situation they may well drink together - ‘Nipperkin’ was a term most used in the West Country.
Stanza 4, where the speaker suggests that the man he killed may have, like he, ‘sold his traps’ (his belongings).
Much of the poem uses simple and matter of fact language - why?
This reflects the speaker’s background and character: a working class, ‘everyday’ man.
It is important that these common features of the speaker and the man he killed are understood by the reader, in order to get across the message that regular people are being placed into these horrific situations.
What quote shows this?
“I shot at him as he at me, And killed him in his place.”
=Internal rhyme
