Compare pre twentieth century poem "The man he killed" by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and twentieth century poem "Dulce et Decorum est.", by Wilfred Owen.

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The pre Twentieth century poem I have chosen is, "The man he killed" by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), and the poem I have chosen that was written after the Twentieth century is, "Dulce et Decorum est.", by Wilfred Owen. Both these poems are about war, life during and after these treacherous times, and its lasting effects.

In Hardy's poem, the poet adopts the persons of a war veteran in the Boar war. The poem is about his actions in this war and their lasting effects. The poet talks of the person he shot, of how this person was just like him, "of hand like- just as I". How they could have met as friends in some "ancient inn" and could have shared a drink together, but instead they met as enemies, because they were on opposite sides in this battle. The language used backs up this statement; "I shot at him, as he at me". This indicates that the poet had to shoot this person as, it was what he was there to do and it was either himself or his victim who was to die. Then as the poem progresses, the poet tries to explain why he carried out the act, saying he,

"shot him dead because-

because he as my foe."

This indicates that the poet sees the fact that this person was on the other side of the battlefield as a just reason to take his life away, but the break up in the sentence and the repeating of the word "because", indicates some hesitation in the poet's explanation. He is thinking hard about why he did it, trying to rationalise some sort of reason, but he doesn't want to dwell on it, so goes onto state "that's clear enough", almost trying to reassure himself. Then doubt creeps back into the poets mind, as he goes on to talk about reasons why this person would have been there, fighting in this war. Enjambment is used, connecting the two stanzas in a flowing sentence, as the poet speculates on the occupation of this man he killed and why he was there. "Was out of work-had sold his traps,

No other reasons why."

Then through this, it emerges why the poet joined the war himself. As he talks of reasons for his victim's enrolment, he states a connection between the two. "He thought he'd list perhaps,

off hand like-just as I."

This indicates to the reader that the poet was apart of this war due to a spire of the moment decision, which would have been a common reason for men joining the Army at this time.

The last stanza brings a rather simplistic close to the poem, as the poet talks of war in general.

"Yes, quaint and curious war is".

He talks of how in a war, people are killed, and lives are destroyed without much thought, due to it being the purpose of why these young men are there, but all these people in the war are alike, as the poet talks again of how they could have been good friends, in different circumstances.

"You'd treat if met where any bar is,

or help to half-a-crown".
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But yet there unfortunate positions on the opposite sides "staring face to face", bought them both to their tragic misfortunes. One man lost his life and the other lives with the pain and anguish of his part in the war.

Hardy's use of language does indicate that the poet is troubled with guilt about his actions in the war, and this adds to the meaning of the poem, of how war has many lasting effects. The use of assonance through the second stanza slows the poem down as the poet talks of his position in the firing ...

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