The Man He Killed By Thomas Hardy Essay
Krystal Fail
English Comp 112
Professor Cipko
11 November 2014
“The Man He Killed” has a powerful title for a poem. An English Victorian poet from 1902, Thomas Hardy, who is against the war, wants the reader to know that he is not the one who has killed someone. Hardy characterizes the main character as a casual guy who joined the military out of hope to have a more stable lifestyle. The themes of this poem are guilt, society, and anti-war. Hardy uses good imagery while letting the reader feel as though they could picture the whole incident.
The first stanza indicates that the “he & I” meant the speaker was referring to the man he will end up killing. The speaker is saying that there could have been a possibility of the two of them being acquaintances at a pub. It was simple to recognize the speaker is reminiscing that if he was not in the military, this wouldn’t have happened. In the second stanza, the setting was serious and adrenaline-charged during the killing of the other soldier. The speaker says, “But ranged as infantry” because he is reassuring himself that he signed up for this and has to do his duties as an infantryman. Infantry is the rank of …show more content…
The speaker is implying that this war is old-fashioned and senseless, while questioning why he is involved in such war. The speaker goes in to say that perhaps he and the man he killed would have been buddies and he may have even bought him a brew out at a pub if they met on different terms. Being Anti-War, Hardy tries to put himself in the situation of regretfully joining the military and having to kill someone. Hardy characterizes the speaker by the way he might have felt in those circumstances. It is clear that the speaker is Anti-War by the tone and guilt throughout the poem. The speaker is questioning his actions because he does not believe that he has made the right choice by enlisting in the
English Comp 112
Professor Cipko
11 November 2014
“The Man He Killed” has a powerful title for a poem. An English Victorian poet from 1902, Thomas Hardy, who is against the war, wants the reader to know that he is not the one who has killed someone. Hardy characterizes the main character as a casual guy who joined the military out of hope to have a more stable lifestyle. The themes of this poem are guilt, society, and anti-war. Hardy uses good imagery while letting the reader feel as though they could picture the whole incident.
The first stanza indicates that the “he & I” meant the speaker was referring to the man he will end up killing. The speaker is saying that there could have been a possibility of the two of them being acquaintances at a pub. It was simple to recognize the speaker is reminiscing that if he was not in the military, this wouldn’t have happened. In the second stanza, the setting was serious and adrenaline-charged during the killing of the other soldier. The speaker says, “But ranged as infantry” because he is reassuring himself that he signed up for this and has to do his duties as an infantryman. Infantry is the rank of …show more content…
The speaker is implying that this war is old-fashioned and senseless, while questioning why he is involved in such war. The speaker goes in to say that perhaps he and the man he killed would have been buddies and he may have even bought him a brew out at a pub if they met on different terms. Being Anti-War, Hardy tries to put himself in the situation of regretfully joining the military and having to kill someone. Hardy characterizes the speaker by the way he might have felt in those circumstances. It is clear that the speaker is Anti-War by the tone and guilt throughout the poem. The speaker is questioning his actions because he does not believe that he has made the right choice by enlisting in the