setting of the poem contributes greatly to the meaning. The title, "Casualty-Mental Ward" is essential to understanding

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The setting of the poem contributes greatly to the meaning. The title, “Casualty-Mental Ward” is essential to understanding the setting. I personally think that the setting takes place in a mental ward itself and that the speaker is a patient there. This can be seen by looking at line 16, “As all eyes close, they gather around my bed.” The fact that the speaker is in a bed surrounded by others, makes it seem as if he is at mental unrest. It is almost as if the speaker is being strapped down and watched over constantly.

The fact that the whole poem takes place in a mental ward can be further proven through Scannell’s use of diction. The words “they” and “their” are used frequently throughout. These words refer to two different sets of people. The more obvious group of people is the dead people themselves. More specifically, they are the dead soldiers, the ones that the speaker has seen die during the war. Lines 9 and 10 read, “I hold long conversations with the dead. Their presence comforts and sustains like bread.” The use of the word “their” in this case is an indication that the speaker is crazy. The speaker feels comfort in talking to the dead just as much as we feel comfort in eating food. The conversations with the dead are like sustenance for him, the last thing that is keeping him from going completely crazy.

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            The words “they” and “their” however, does not only refer to the dead, but also the doctors in the hospital. Please look at the lines following the ones I just read (lines 11 to 13): “When they don’t come it’s hard to be resigned; Something has gone wrong inside my head. They know about the snipers that I dread.” In these lines, the “they” is referring to the doctors. The speaker finds it hard to remain calm when the doctors aren’t near him, something that is common with many mentally ill people. Also, the doctors are well aware of ...

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