The Man He Killed Flashcards
The message throughput the poem is what?
Universal message regarding conflict.
What ate the stanzas like?
Juxtaposing.
What is the rhyme scheme like?
Regular rhyme scheme with some internal rhyme.
What does the rhyme highlight?
The repetitive nature of war.
What does the poem lack?
Real emotion or explicit violence as you might expect.
The view of war is…
Reflective and retrospective.
What are the sentences like throughout the poem?
Fractured.
Why is the punctuation used?
To justify act of killing.
What type of language is used and why?
Archaic language to reflect nature of war fare.
What is the simple language contrasted with?
Serious message and subject matter.
What does the play begin and end with?
Image of men in the bar.
Circular structure.
What does the poet juxtapose?
Different scenarios between the 2 men drinking in a bar and killing each other on the battle field.
The title”The Man He Killed”
3rd person.
Anonymous, makes the message of the poem universal.
What kind of conflict does the poem present?
Moral conflict.
Killing someone because they are your enemy.
What do the speech marks tell us?
Its a dramatic monologue.
What is a dramatic monologue?
A poem in the form of a speech by an imagined person, revealing aspects of the character whilst describing a particular situation.
“He and I”
Introduces 2 men.
Main characters.
“Old ancient inn”
Like an old story or fable, with obvious message.
“Nipperkin!”
Small measure of spirit.
Civilised behaviour.
What does the second stanza do?
Juxtaposes with previous stanza.
“ranged as infantry”
Foot soldiers.
Intimate and brutal battle.
“I shot at him as he at me”
Lambic tetrameter.
“And killed him in his place”
Void of any real emotion.
Very factual/declarative.
What do full stops add?
A sense of finality.
Which is lambic tetrameter?
Refers to a line consisting of 4 iambic feet.
What happens in the 3rd stanza?
Change of tone.
The change of tone in the 3rd stanza highlights what?
The poet trying to justify his actions.
“Because -“
Change of tone.
Reinforced by the hyphen.
What does the simplistic rhyme scheme do?
Highlights the serious nature of war and highlights the futility of the ‘death of the foe’.
What does the conversational style highlight?
The futility of war.
“off-hand like - just as i-“
Dashes highlight the casual approach to war, which is condemned by the poe.
“No other reason why”
This is reinforced with the use of a short sentence.
What happens in stanza 4?
Narrator with the dead soldier.
“Yes; quaint and curious war is!”
Deeply ironic statement.
The poet has proven that this is not the case.
“you shoot a fellow down”
Positive language.
Juxtaposes with severity of situation.
