Poem Analysis: Here By R. S. Thomas

Literature Essay

The four poems that are going to be analyzed below offer different statements on human nature and the subject of human violence.
The poem “Here” by R.S. Thomas, a man of devout but questioning faith, centers on the themes of doubt and guilt. In the beginning stanza, we can see that the poem is the reflection of the persona, which we then realize is his questioning about religion. This is suggested by the quote “You can feel the place where the brains grow” which conveys the idea that the persona is wondering about something and that this is what he will develop through the poem and also shows he is an intelligent man, “like a tree”, old and wise, idea reinforces by the quote “the footprints that led up to me” which show
This is conveyed by the questions he makes, “Why, then, are my hand red/with the blood of so many dead?” where he talks about the bad things men has done as a whole. The diction of “mislead” also conveys the idea of the mistakes humanity has committed, but here it implies that it was not its fault, but that men where led to act wrongly, for example soldiers who are persuaded to commit atrocities in war. The idea of religious doubt and uncertainty is further developed by the rhetorical questions “Does no man hear when I pray?” and “That they will not do as I say?” because he prays but nothing happens and by knowing the author’s background and his questioning faith we can deduce from this quote he is not completely certain there is a God listening to his prayers. they also show the feeling of helplessness and despair: “That they will not do as I say?”. The last stanzas convey
It depicts war as something repetitive that happens every year by saying “Time again for the annual joust”, as if there was no way of preventing it. By saying “to tilt at the old windmills” the author refers to the fact that the soldiers strike at windmills instead of actually fighting, which suggests that Cheng believes war is useless and pointless. This ironic comment shows that the author condemns war. The diction of “creaking bones”, “suppressed grunts” and “battle-weary knights” conveys the idea of the tiredness and exhaustion soldiers suffer from, and that they cannot escape from it as they are doomed to fight forever. The second stanza has a more critical tone, and the simile “like children placed in carousels” is successful in expressing that the soldiers could not escape, they were trapped there with no way out and no choice. The quote “emerge unlikely heroes with long years/of braving the same horrors/pinned on our tunic fronts” is a condemnation of war because it says that the soldiers are seen as heroes for having committed atrocities, society celebrates and encourages war, and all those horrors are shown in the pins and badges in their tunics which are worn as something to be proud of when they actually represent the atrocities they have