The Man He Killed- by Thomas Hardy

Question 1

The Man He Killed:
Who is it written by?

Answer 1

Thomas Hardy

Question 2

The Man He Killed:
What is some key context?

Answer 2

-West Country heritage and born in Dorset which influences his language.
-Anti-war poem at the end of Boer War.
- Was against Boer war, since like many liberals he believed Boers were protecting their home.
-Use this to speak out about on futility of war and to support working class.

Question 3

The Man He Killed:
When was this poem written

Answer 3

1902

Question 4

The Man He Killed:
What are the meanings of this poem?

Answer 4

-A British soldier reflects in a pub about fighting and killing a soldier in the Boer War.
-He reflects on insanity and futility of war.

Question 5

The Man He Killed:
What is this poem written in?

Answer 5

-Quatrains.
-Dramatic Monologue.

Question 6

The Man He Killed:
What is the rhyme scheme here?

Answer 6

-ABBA

Question 7

The Man He Killed
“I shot at him as he at me”
What is some analysis of this quotation?

Answer 7

Monosyllabic words- emphasis focus, no time for leisurely contemplation. War is to kill or to be killed.
Pronoun- nameless of poetic persona and man he killed creates a sense of universality and the fact that the men as fundamentally equal (futility of war)

Question 8

The Man He Killed:
What dialect is used here?

Answer 8

Dorset Dialect

Question 9

The Man He Killed:
“By some old ancient inn”
What is some analysis of this quotation?

Answer 9

Anecdotal Opening: contrasts the actual circumstances of the two men (within a war) with the possibility that in some other reality, they might have met in a pub, highlighting how Hardy is criticising the cruelness and irrationality of war.

Question 10

The Man He Killed:
“You’d treat if met where any bar is”
What is some analysis of this quotation?

Answer 10

Cyclical structure- The cycling back, shows how the situation will just continue to repeat itself (futility of war).