Several different uses of language and a variation of techniques have been used in order to enhance and explore these conflicts. Most poets have also made use of the historical, social, and cultural aspects of their time to put along certain effects or convey certain ideas. Alliteration is one such technique used for enhancement of the conflict theme within the poems. It is used in most poems and is effective in the support of the rhythm of a poem and the addition of suspense. In “The Drum” it is used at the very beginning, “I hate that drum’s discordant sound” This has to do with the historical significance of the drum, which was used to call all those willing to apply as soldiers for war – hence making a drum a historical connotation of War – the main conflict throughout all the poems. The fact that the poet uses words such as ‘hate’ and ‘discordant’ makes is evident that the poet feels negatively towards this conflict. On the other hand, alliteration is used to express different effects on conflict in “Vitai Lamparda”. The line reads: “And, falling, fling, to the host behind”. The repeating sound here “eff” is soft in relation to the meaning of the line. This could perhaps symbolize the reality of war and people dying (meaning of line) against the simplicity the orders may sound like (the soft, ‘simple’ “eff” sound). Another technique used is Repetition. This is a popular technique throughout the poems I have chosen and is used in all of them. John Scott uses it in “The Drum” and this is seen in the first two lines:
“I hate that drum’s discordant sound,
Parading round, and round, and round”
Not only are these two lines repeated once again in the first verse, but there is an internal repetition within lines two which is also significant. The repetition of the two lines in verse two links in with the structure of the poem, which is based on the Ambition/Misery conflict. Whilst Verse 1 talks of what might be going through a soldier’s mind pre-war, Verse 2 talks of what probably goes through their mind after – which links in with Appearance (the appearance of war – charms, fancy uniform and glittering arms)/Reality (reality of war – death, misery, and injury). So the repetition of these two lines represents the boundary of where appearance ends and the reality shines through. The line “Parading round, and round, and round” is significant in its rhythm. The rhythm of it is almost a beat – which connotes marching and drumming – linking back to the conflict of War. The rhythm of the poem also supports the idea of marching and supports the link to war as it follows the Iambic form, four iambs per line – a beat – linking back to war. “Vitai Lamparda” also makes use of repetition. The line “ ‘Play up! play up! and play the game!’ ” is repeated at the end of each verse. This would insignificant should it have been used in only the first verse, since verse one is of children playing. However, the following verses talk about war and life respectively. So using the repeated one line “ ‘Play up! play up! and play the game!’ ” Newbolt conflicts both war and life with a game, or Duty/Personal Feelings, insinuating that no matter what, in the end you must follow rules (orders) to execute the game, and sometimes it may just not work out – the way Newbolt has used repetition is similar to the style it is used in within “The Drum”. “War” however, differs. The repetition is near the end of the verses. “And it’s War!” This also links in with Duty/Personal Feelings. The verses talk of the misery of war and the death that follows it – the repeated line, “And it’s War!” releases the tension built up and emphasizes (not only by repetition, but also by the italics of ‘War’) the fact that this is duty, personal entanglements are negligible. The line is always followed by something supporting this idea. Such as “Easily – gently! Thanks, you may go.” Almost as if saying, your duty is complete, this is simply our job, nothing more or less – bring on the next patient.
Structure and Form, in my opinion is extremely important in the analysis of the poems I have chosen. This includes aspects such as the rhyme scheme and the rhythm which have been manipulated in order to enhance the idea of conflict in each poem. One such aspect of structure that is particularly effective is the sense of progression used in a variety of the poems. “The Drum” has used this idea cleverly. The first stanza describes the anticipation of war or the “Ambitions” whilst the second stanza progresses to the post-war reality – “Misery”. “Vitai Lamparda” uses a similar method. However, whilst “The Drum” represents a group of people, “Vitai Lamparda” uses one person’s progression to represent a class of people. We start off with the first stanza setting the scene of young children playing cricket at school at young age. Stanza two then proceeds to a war scene with the same children grown up, this is evident to us in the second to last line quoting, “But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks:” which insinuates the fact that these are the same children only older. Stanza three however moves onto the more general topic of life. This rigid, set structure conflicts with the dynamic content of the poem itself. This format differs from “War” which uses a different approach towards structure in relation to conflict altogether. Each stanza is marked with a roman numeral, giving each one a definitive new theme. The actual theme of the stanza branch off from the main conflict of War. Stanza I concentrates mainly on the idea of Light/Dark, whilst Stanza II revolves around the harshness and loneliness of War, as evident in lines such as “a table laid out for one”. Stanza III, however, discusses the conflict between Life and Death as well as Personal Beliefs or Feelings/Duty or Work. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” uses a similar method with the roman numerals, but would be more apparent in the splitting up of the Stanzas should there have not been numerals in the first place. This is mainly because of the common line used in the beginning in a variety of the verses, linking them to the same subject, yet also splitting them more definitively. The structure stanza of “What the Bullet Sang” however is unique to the rest of the poems. The most noticeable aspect is the change of point of view from Third as with the other poems to First Person point of view, adding a sense of personal touch to the poem. The poem in whole is structured around the hymn of an ode. This links with the conflict between Duty/Personal Feelings as the bullet’s “feelings” per se, contradict its whole function in life – to kill. The ode-like structure helps to add to the positive feeling giving to the poem. This in itself creates another conflict between Positive/Negative as the reality of the bullet’s “job” is unraveled. The ‘sudden’ reality of the bullets job is told in the end, making it abrupt and decisive.
Although Structure and Form have been used effectively, all of the poets have used historical, social, and cultural contexts in order to convey effective meanings within their poems in addition. Not only to support the theme of conflict within the poems but also as a means of supporting other ideas within the poem. “The Drum” makes use of historical and social contexts quite efficiently. Scott links back to War through the major use of a single historical object – the drum. The drum at the time was ‘the call for war’ hence connoting it with war, linking it back to the major theme. The poet also uses more historical words in order to support his view on the idea of war, words such as tawdry lace and liberty give connotations of past happenings. The poet was able to use these in order to convey his opinions on war. “Vitai Lamparda” similarly uses historical aspects in order to convey its ideas. “Vitai Lamparda” however makes use of the historical connotations of ‘the gentlemen’s game’ or ‘cricket’. At the time, cricket was considered to be a game of high class and meant a proportional high social status. Therefore when it refers to children in public schools playing the game, the historical aspect allows us to conclude where they stand in society. The name of this poem is also significant historically. The Latin translates to “The Torch of Life” and is perhaps reflecting on the poet’s opinion. Perhaps the poet is trying to pass along the idea of the inevitability of progression is different social classes?
In conclusion, all of the poets through all the poems have effectively made use of all aspects concerning the formation of the poems in order to support the idea of conflict in each one. From the structure to the use of historical, social and cultural contexts, conflict has been a major side of the poet’s structuring of the poems. Although my personal favourite was “The Drum”, all have used this appropriately and have created an engaging conflict rich poem.
