The Man He Killed Theme

The Homo He Killed

The Human He Killed

by Thomas Hardy

"Had he and I but met
By some sometime ancient inn,
We should have sat u.s.a. downwards to wet
Right many a nipperkin!

"But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face up,
I shot at him every bit he at me,
And killed him in his place.

"I shot him dead because —
Because he was my foe,
Only so: my foe of course he was;
That's articulate enough; although

"He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-paw like — but as I —
Was out of work — had sold his traps —
No other reason why.

"Aye; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow downwardly
Yous'd care for if met where whatsoever bar is,
Or assist to half-a-crown."

Summary of The Man He Killed

Popularity of "The Man He Killed": This verse form was written by Thomas Hardy, a great English novelist and poet. 'The Human He Killed' is a narrative poem most the war and enmity betwixt the 2 countries without reason. It was start published in 1902 in Harper's Weekly. The poem speaks virtually the nature of war and the destruction it causes. It also attempts to illustrate the part of an enemy soldier in a war. The verse form details what the soldiers feel while killing another soldier from the opposite side.
"The Man He Killed" Equally a Representative of Hatred: This poem is about the duties a war imposed upon soldiers. The poem starts with a confession. The speaker says that if that man met him in an inn, they would have had a great time together. They could accept had a drink. Nonetheless, both were soldiers. They stared at each other and shot at each other. Luckily, the speaker survived, but the human being died. Later killing the human being, the speaker attempts to justify his action, proverb that the person was his foe, soldier from the enemy line.
And then, he contemplates the mocking nature of war, saying that he did not join the war to kill someone. Now, he has shot a homo. He struggles to discover words to justify his action. To him, war is appealing. He likewise feels curious because, as a soldier, you might kill a human but be friendly at the bar. Notwithstanding, war fifty-fifty makes people inhuman after killing others.
Major Themes in "The Homo He Killed": Consequence of war is the major theme of this verse form. The poem is almost the soldier killing another man considering they are fighting on opposite fronts in the war. Ironically, the speaker fails to justify his action. He only states that the deceased was his foe. Later, he is haunted by the thought of killing the innocent man who came to war just to serve his nation. He only curses the fight knowing that it makes people insane to the extent that they easily kill others.

Assay of Literary Devices Used in "The Man He Killed"

literary devices are essential elements of a literary text. They bring richness to the literature and assist the readers empathize meanings. Here is the analysis of some literary devices used in this poem.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the aforementioned line. For example, the audio of /oo/ in "Y'all shoot a beau downwards."
Ingemination: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the audio of /h/ in "Had he and I but met".
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /f/ in "my foe of class" and the audio of /northward/ in "ranged as infantry."
Enjambment: It is defined as a idea in verse that does not come to an end at a line interruption; instead, information technology continues in the next line. For example,

"Y'all shoot a fellow down
Y'all'd treat if met where whatsoever bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown."

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, "Had he and I but met", "I shot at him as he at me" and "You shoot a boyfriend down."
Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended significant is different from the actual meaning. The poet has used ironic expression in the first stanza of the poem to demonstrate the fact that he would not impale the human if they had met in a bar.
Symbolism: Symbolism is a use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities past giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal meanings. Hither, "war" symbolizes senselessness.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in "The Man He Killed"

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Hither is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this verse form.

End Rhyme: Cease rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. For example, "met/wet", "inn/nipperkin" and "downwardly/crown."
Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABAB rhyme scheme, and this design continues until the terminate.
Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here, each stanza is a quatrain.
Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are 5 stanzas in this poem, with each having iv lines in it.