your dad did what by sophie hannah

Explore how Scott uses negative language to convey his attitude towards war.Use examples from the poem to support your answer.

The poem ‘The drum’ is about how men were persuaded to go to war by the recruitment methods which suggested that war is glorious. The drum accompanied the men as they marched off to war and was associated with this sense of glory. The poet shows how this idea of glory is false and that the reality of war is horrid. Therefore, he hates the sound of the drum because it reminds him of the lies that are told to soldiers before they go to war.

The poem is written in first person narrative this helps the reader understand the poet's personal opinion on war.The poem consists of two contrasting stanzas and has a regular rhythm and rhyme.

The first stanza shows what the drums mean to the young men who dream of being a soldier,it gives a positive view on sacrifice as it uses words like ‘fall’ which is romanticised language, this suggests that it is very heroic and brave to die for ones country.
The quote ‘I hate that drums discordant sound’ refers to the drums which are beaten in the parade when men leave for the war,there Scott associates the sound of the drum to war.
This line is repeated in the second stanza this emphasises Scotts hatred of war.

The second stanza shows his views on war and he shows that the death that occurs is more like slaughter than sacrifice.This stanza shocks the reader as it makes them realise and understand the true horrors of war.In addition Scott effectively presents his critisism on the way people perceive war when he uses two contrasting stanzas.The poet uses graphic vocabulary to create imagery.For instance ‘And mangled limbs and dying groans’.Theese are vivid and descriptive.They make the reader really imagine the agony and pain the people are experiencing.

The main theme of the poem is the destruction of war. The poet uses the word war as an lexical field, for instance words like; ‘burning’, ‘ruined’, ‘mangled’ and ‘widows tears’ are used.The use of alliteration in ‘...and fight and fall in foreign in foreign lands’ highlights how quickly the soldiers die.
In the second stanza the poet repetitively uses the word ‘and’ when listing the negative factors caused by war.this could suggest that the list of horrors of war is ongoing.

The poem has a regular rhythm and rhyme this reflects the steady beat of the drum.In stanza one the upbeat rhythm of the poem reflects how young men were encouraged to go to war by being promised glory,honour and status.On the other hand in the second stanza, the regular rhythm and rhyme helps to reflect how constant and continual the real suffering of war was.
The poet uses language to express his feelings towards war.John Scott uses the word ‘hate’ in both stanzas which indicates and emphasises how much he dislikes war.
He uses powerful repetition and rhyme to to evoke the sound of the drum and also to compete with it.Furthermore the quote ‘round and round and round’ conveys a sense of entrapment in the first stanza and never ending misery in the second.