"The Man He Killed" is a poem written by Thomas Hardy in 1902. It tells the story of a soldier who reflects on the fact that he killed a man in a war and how, under different circumstances, they might have been friends. The poem is written in the first person perspective, with the soldier speaking directly to the reader.
The first stanza introduces the soldier and sets the scene of the battlefield. The soldier describes how he killed a man, and then reflects on how the man looked and how he himself looked at the time. The soldier notes that the man he killed was "just as alive" as he was, and that the only difference between them was that the soldier was wearing a uniform and the man he killed was not.
The second stanza further develops the theme of the poem, as the soldier imagines what might have been if they had met under different circumstances. He speculates that they might have been friends, and that they might have had a drink together. The soldier also wonders what the man he killed might have been like, and if he had a family who would mourn his loss.
The third stanza is a turning point in the poem, as the soldier begins to feel remorse for what he has done. He recognizes that the man he killed was not his enemy, but rather someone who was "just as doomed" as he was to fight in the war. The soldier realizes that the only thing that separated them was the accident of birth, and that they were both pawns in a larger game.
The final stanza brings the poem to a close, as the soldier concludes that he is no different from the man he killed. He states that he could have been the one who was killed, and that the man he killed could have been the one standing in his place. The soldier laments the tragedy of war and the fact that it can turn friends into enemies and enemies into friends.
Overall, "The Man He Killed" is a powerful and thought-provoking poem that highlights the tragedy of war and the arbitrary nature of human conflict. It serves as a poignant reminder that, in the end, we are all human and that our differences are often superficial.
The Man He Killed, Thomas Hardy Poem Analysis/Annotations
The poet is trying to posit that people are generally friendly but war drives them into viewing each other as enemies and end up killing each other. Had he and I but met By some old ancient inn, We should have sat us down to wet Right many a nipperkin! The poet did not believe in the Victorian faith in benevolent God. By using this stanza, the persona is drawing similarities between the two of them, but the war has turned them into enemies and killers. Had the two met at an inn, they would have had drinks together nipperkin , but they, unfortunately, met on the battlefield where one had to kill or be killed. The first stanza is a dramatic monologue combined with imagery. So, there are two aspects of the speaker's personality.
The Man He Killed Poem Summary and Analysis
Like the speaker in the poem, many people cannot think of a valid reason why they maim, injure or kill each other and destroy property in a normal situation. The poet notes that things would have been different had they met at a bar, and the contrast between a bar and the war field extends on this futility. The event has changed him. Conclusion Hardy was a talented poet who integrated traditional style with a blend of his unique structure to create informative and entertaining literature. But ranged as infantry, And staring face to face, I shot at him as he at me, And killed him in his place.
The Man He Killed Quotes
Throughout the poem, quotation marks are used to connotate the use of direct speech and give the impression that the person is talking directly to the reader. Answer: They two men were not enemies. Context: This poem, in the form of a monologue spoken by an infantryman, is a meditation on war, which makes a virtue of murdering men one does not even know, merely because their nation is a declared enemy of one's own. The poem by Hardy has five stanzas, each with four lines that tell the story of two soldiers who had fought in the war and killed each other just because they were enemies. The language, setting, and theme of the poem are directed towards the depiction of the futility of war. It had just seemed like a good thing at that time — patriotic, duty towards motherland, etc.
