The conscientious Objector- poem essay

The Conscientious Objector. The conscientious objector tells us about a person who refuses to be involved in war for moral and ethical reasons. War has never solved problems. In this poem, war itself is being considered as immoral. This is because war takes lives. The poet herself is speaking in this poem. In the first sentence when she says “I shall die, but that is all I shall do for Death” she recognizes that Death is inevitable. But, she refuses to take any part in it. The next lines show us the urgency of the situation, when the writer says that “he has business in Cuba,” and “business in the Balkans” She’s telling us that like a hunter, Death is preparing to set about his business. However, it’s not saying that Cuba or the Balkans is the landmark of Death. It’s saying that man is the cause and Death is reaping the benefits of man’s foolishness. When she says “I will not hold the bridle as he cinches the girth,” she’s telling us that she will have no part in assisting Death. The poet seems to think that Death is avoidable, but only if man refuses to invite Death and choose life instead. Where it says “though he flick my shoulders with his whip, I will not tell him which way the fox ran,” Death is presenting itself as a hunter who is killing for sport. Obviously the fox stands for the innocent victims of war. Once again, the image of the hunt reinforces the idea of war as a meaningless cruel game of Death. Then again, the hunt wouldn’t be possible without the hounds, or in other words the foot soldiers. These foot soldiers are in a significant way responsible for this game of Death. The poet shows us that the hunt is referring to the history of slavery in America. So, in this Death hunt, black men, women and children, were brutally hunted down by the white masters. The poet’s nonviolent opposition to authority in the face of imminent physical pain and torture shows us a measure of the poet’s pacifist beliefs. In the second part of the poem,