The poem "The Man He Killed" by Thomas Hardy is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of the senselessness of war and the tragedy of human conflict.
In the poem, the speaker is a soldier who reflects on the experience of killing another man in battle. He describes the man he killed as being "young" and "fair," and he reflects on the fact that, under different circumstances, the two of them might have been friends. This realization forces the speaker to confront the inherent brutality and absurdity of war, as he is forced to take the life of someone who is essentially no different from himself.
Throughout the poem, Hardy uses vivid imagery and descriptive language to convey the horror and absurdity of war. He describes the man he killed as having "breathed his last" and being "dead as earth," emphasizing the finality and permanence of death. He also speaks of the "friend or foe" nature of war, highlighting the arbitrary nature of conflict and the way in which it can turn even the most unlikely of people into enemies.
Ultimately, the poem suggests that war is a destructive and pointless endeavor that serves only to bring about suffering and death. It forces individuals to make choices that are at odds with their natural instincts and human nature, and it causes them to turn against one another in the most violent and cruel of ways.
Through his powerful use of language and imagery, Hardy is able to convey the full weight of the tragedy of war and the devastating effects it has on the individuals involved. "The Man He Killed" serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of peace and understanding, and it encourages readers to think critically about the ways in which we interact with one another and seek to resolve conflicts.
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Cite this page as follows: "What exactly does the soldier mean by discribing war as "quaint" and "curious" in Thomas Hardy's poem "The Man He Killed? Drawing on the way of life he absorbed in Dorsetshire as a youth and the wide range of English writers with which he was familiar, Hardy spent nearly thirty years as a novelist before devoting himself to poetry. His first novel was The Poor Man and the Lady. Lines 9-10 In these lines there is a justification for the killing and it is a simple justification, without deliberation. The unpolitical man, doing his duty without ambition or understanding, experiences this history as a kind of fate that colors invader and invaded alike with its grey strokes. He has been in battle, and, "Ranged as infantry," has shot down another man and killed him. Historicism Knowing the time and geographical context of a literary work helps to understand the themes, plot, and other literary elements.
The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy Summary and Analysis
The adults announce the war, and it is youth who suffers. I shot him dead because-- Because he was my foe, Just so: my foe of course he was; That's clear enough; although He thought he'd 'list, perhaps, Off-hand like--just as I-- Was out of work--had sold his traps-- No other reason why. But this would take the poem outside the limited feeling and moral awareness of the speaker. Stanza 5: In this stanza, the speaker speaks of curious and quaint nature of war. The speaker mentions that he shot the man because he came to the front line either to shot other or to be shot by others.
The Man He Killed
As a result, the empathy and interest of the audience are aroused since they are involved in the conversation. The poem itself comes to no great or deep understanding of war, nor does it propogandize against war. Though religious authorities dismissed these new scientific discoveries, the theory of evolution had contributed to the decline of religion in Victorian life. GradeSaver, 19 February 2021 Web. But he had no chance to offer the Dorset man a pint of beer; their meeting in his home means that they are already enemies. In the poem, Hardy puts himself in the perspective of a common people and asks bigger questions regarding the purpose of the war in general except destruction and loss.
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When the Rogue forces him into the lodge, he relives the past and remembers how he killed his wife again. Both the speaker and the other man are infantrymen enlisted on the frontline in the war and are supposed to take orders from the authority. The bright morning sun outside the window is replaced by a heavy wind and rain, and then the night comes at all. Lines 13-16 In these lines the narrator begins deliberation, speculating about the man he has just killed and beginning to attribute his own motives to the dead man. From this point of view, sensitivity or awareness may itself be felt as a burden or blight.
Line by Line Meaning of The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy: 2022
But in the war for the viewer, any means are good. Hardy became convinced that if he was to make a living writing, he would have to do so as a novelist. Both of them came face to face in an encounter and shot each other, however, it is the other soldier who died. Now the old man tells Joe the story of how he once fought a leopard and killed him with a rock. He asks the young man stupid questions, such as if his wife sent an old man to look after him or if he was a serial killer. Why does this grumpy old man live in such a hole? Remember that in line 7, they shot at each other, and the narrator could just as easily have been the dead man. One day, a knock is heard in his lonely hut.
