** was not at the lesson on Friday, completed it this afternoon as H/W**
1. Find out when each of the poems was written and which war they are discussing?- The Man He Killed, which was written by Thomas Hardy was published in the year of 1902, which suggets that the poem was specifically based on the Boer War which occured in 1899–1902. Men in Green was written by David Campbell in the year of 1944, which suggests it was written as a response to the Second World War.
Q2. What aspect of war is each poem exploring? Discuss the subject matter of each poem.
- The Man He Killed, is a poem based on the sadness of war and how the soldiers felt when killing other men. It is an example of Hardys belief in anti- war sentiments and shows his concern with man's inhumanity to man. Men in Green, is a poem based on men fighting in World War 2 this is shown by the the words used in the poem 'Dobadura' and 'Soputa' which are places in Papua New Guinea which was a country that was effected by war. The aspect of the poem is man fighting man and one soldier who is telling the story from his point of view and what he sees.
Q3. Discuss the tone/ feelings and emotions conveyed by each poet in their poem.
- There is a very strong emotion of sadness and senselessness in 'The Man He Killed'. The poem is spoken in first person by a young soldier who had to kill another soldier simply because they were on the opposing teams. In the 'Men in Green' the tone of the poem is one of mans fear and innocence of the soldiers that are caught up in war, especially the soldier that is playing the narrator.
4. Identify 3 poetic devices used in each poem and explain their effect in conveying the poets message about war and conflict.
- The Man He Killed 1. In the Man He Killed, the poet used the A,B,A,B writing scheme. This effective technique is used through out the poem, for example in Stanza 1.."Had he and I but met by some old ancient inn, we should have set us down to wet right many a naperkin!" It is a significant technique because it makes the poem flow and give it rhythem.
2. Personification also another poetic technique in the poem. It is displayed in the last stanza "Or help to half a crown". It is an effective technique which is commonly used in most poems and helps you to collect a more mental picture of the poem.
3. Another poetic technique used by the poet is assonance. This can be displayed in the third line in stanza three "Just so: my foe of course he was;" This is an effective rhyming technique used because along with the A,B,A,B writing scheme it makes the sentence flow.
-Men in Green
1. When first reading the poem the most noticable technique is visual imagery for example "For fifteen men in jungle green rose from the kunai grass" this is an effective technique used very often in the poem and gives it a very clear visual of the poem.
2. Personification was also used by the poet for example in "White paws of cloud" and “…nature had meet them in the night and stalked them in the day…” This is a very common poetic device that is used many times in the poem.
3. The ABAB writing scheme was also used in the poem although, instead of every line rhyming with the second one after only two lines in the 4 lines rhyme. For example "Oh, there were fifteen men in green, each with a tommy-gun,who leapt into my planes at dawn; we rose to meet the sun."
Q4. Which poem do you think is most effective in conveying the ideas and feelings associated with war? Explain your choice with direct refernces to the text.
- I think that both poems were very effective in conveying the ideas and feelings associated with war. The Man He Killed, is very effective in displaying the emotion that soldiers went through, particually one soldier who expressed his sadness in killing a soldier who was probably at war for the same reason he was "He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-hand like—just as I—
Was out of work—had sold his traps—
No other reason why." Although Men in Green was also effective in showing what the soldiers went through on a day to day basis during war "..Oh, there were some leaned on a stick
And some on stretchers lay,..."
