Robert Southey wrote the Battle of Blenheim in 1798.

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The Battle Of Blenheim

Robert Southey wrote the Battle of Blenheim in 1798, taking a trip back in time to the battle when the Duke of Marlborough defeated the French and Austrians. Old Kaspar is frequently mentioned in this piece about the war, he is a peasant who lives on the former battlefield.

     The rhyme pattern in this poem is:

A

B

C

B

D

D!

    In the first verse Southey sets the scene for us, by saying that “It was a summer evening,” by saying this, he states clearly what type of day it was, which helps us to make a mental image of the pleasant scene he describes. “Old Kaspar’s work was done, and he before his cottage door was sitting in the sun, and by him sported on the green, his little grandchild Wilhelmine.” Again, this sets the scene, a pleasant, peaceful and relaxed theme, Old Kaspar is relaxing in his garden, after a hard days work, his grandchild is also there. The names given so far all seem to be Foreign, a European theme.

   In the second scene, another relation to Kaspar is introduced, his grandson, Peterkin, which also has a European structure. Then the relaxed and pleasant theme continues, the children are playing, with what seems to be old toys/games, which again reminds us of the time period this is set in. Then Peterkin finds something which sets the whole poem, “that was so large, and smooth, and round.” This emphasises the discovery and shape of the object, which the young boy thinks could be a new, interesting thing to play with and asks his Grandfather what it is.

   In verse three, the great find is examined by his Grandfather, who is not disappointed in the boy’s find, but upset, which we gather from the line “ And, with a natural sigh.” When we find out what this object was, “ this some poor fellows skull”, we understand why he is genuinely upset. PeterKin was excited, expectant in his find, but when realising what he has found, he is not so eager to play. By verse 3, the atmosphere has changed dramatically, and the first mention of what this poem is about is now stated, and understood, “who fell in the great victory.” This makes you feel that Kasper is proud of the battle of Blenheim, but when studying the poem carefully and closely, I have come to the conclusion, that maybe he is not as proud as he states to his grandchildren. I believe that deep down he regrets the war happened. The line “And, with a natural sign”has proved to be very significant, as it reveals his true feelings and sadness for the people that died in the war.

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Kaspar makes out that finding a skull is a regular occurrence. He states that when he was ploughing, the ‘ploughshare’ always turns them out - finds them. “For many thousand men were slain in the great victory.” These lines are a human cast, soldiers ‘slain’ implies that they had little chance.  

  Through the next few verses, his grandchildren are very curious and ask him about the great victory, and Kaspar reluctantly agrees to tell them, why they fought the war, and who was to blame for what they had just found. He tells them that the war ...

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