'Drummer Hodge' by Thomas Hardy describes the burial of an English soldier in the Boer War.
Rachel Underwood L50
‘Drummer Hodge’ by Thomas Hardy describes the burial of an English soldier in the Boer War.
Drummers were usually the very youngest of soldiers and were considered to be too young to fight. This instantly sets a very sombre tone as the reader realises the soldier was very young when he died. The word ‘Hodge’ is used to describe him and was once used as a derogatory term for a farm labourer however Hardy means no disrespect as he has openly showed his admiration for countrymen. This term is merely one of many techniques used to emphasis how foreign the Drummer is.
‘A Dead Boche’ by Robert Graves describes an encounter with a dead “Boche”; the word boche was an offensive term for a German. These two poems are instantly different as one is written about a fellow Englishman whilst the other is written about an enemy.
The first stanza in ‘Drummer Hodge’ shows the horror of the soldier’s death and burial in a strange land:
“They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined – just as found
His landmark is a kopje-crest”
The word “throw” shows how disrespectful Hodge’s burial is, he is not lowered with dignity or given a proper military burial as he should be entitled to. He is not even placed in a coffin and is buried “just as found” making him sound more like an object than a person. The Afrikaans words “kopje-crest” and “veldt” emphasise the foreignness of Hodge’s resting place, which is also highlighted again by the reference to the “foreign constellations” that will rise nightly over his grave. Graves’ poem contrasts with this as it focuses more on how the German visually looks and doesn’t evoke the emotional feeling that is brought about by the alienation in Hardy’s poem. Graves’ poem expresses a very negative and cynical feeling about the war in contrast to Hardy’s pensive views. The poem ‘A Dead Boche’ sounds almost funny as Graves sets it up in a similar style to a limerick. He directs the reader personally with the use of the personal pronoun “you” and address himself as “I” creating a very informal atmosphere. However like ‘Drummer Hodge’, the dead German has just been left in a foreign country without a proper burial and goodbye.