The Man He Killed Flashcards
What is the context to this poem?
It was written in 1902 and the soldier has just returned from the Boer war between great Britain and the two Boer republics
How is a feeling of confusion created?
There is sound conflict between the sounds (light feeling, like a nursery rhyme) and the topic which creates a confusing, conflicting tone to show how the soldier is feeling
What is the main theme of this poem?
Strong anti war theme
What is the structure of this poem?
Consists of 5 quatrain stanzas (4 lines per stanza). And it has an ABAB rhyme structure
What is the Rhythm of this poem?
Iambic. In the third line of each stanza there are 4 stressed syllables whereas the rest of them have 3
What is the effect of the internal rhyme in this poem? E.g. ‘foe…so…although’
It makes you slow down suggesting that his thoughts could have been slowing down. There are too many rhymes which makes for a stuttering effect and slowing down the rhythm
Give an example of a quote with hyphens and what effect does this create
Off hand like-just as I- was out of work-had sold his traps-
It shows him emotionally breaking down. He has to pause when thinking about the other soldier
What is the effect of the repetiiton in the phrase “I shot him dead because- because he was my foe’
Shows that he was second guessing himself, doesn’t believe that it was a good reason.
What is the effect of the words ‘quaint and curious’ In the phrase ‘yes; quaint and curious war is’
It sums up the tone as these are not the words you would usually associate with death. It shows he doesn’t know how to feel
Who wrote it?
Thomas Hardy
