In the first stanza the main two characters are introduced. The action has already taken place. The poet is therefore reflecting on the event. “Had he and I but met” – the use of word “but” gives a clue that this stanza is about an alternate situation that could’ve happened.
The idea in first stanza is in contrast to that in the second stanza. The fact that they instead met as soldiers, confronted with each other, one had to die. “Ranged as infantry” suggests that the men were not natural enemies but were “ranged” to set against each other. Both “shot” each other, but the narrator survived and the man died. The phrase “as he at me” shows that their situations were similar. There is a kill-or-be-killed situation which portrays human vs. Human conflict. This is because both men were fighting to save their lives.
In the third stanza, the narrator gives his reasons for killing the man. He falters and hesitates and says “because” as he cannot easily think of the reason for his action. “Because he was my foe”; the hesitant reason proves the fact that he knew nothing except that he was his foe and that also not a natural enemy but an enmity created by others. The narrator doesn’t give much information about how the man looked like and is referred as “he”, which shows that even after killing, the man was just a stranger to him.
The use of phrases such as “just so” and “of course” suggests that the narrator is trying to convince himself that his action was inevitable. The stanza however ends with the word “although” which suggests that he was not in fact at ease with the idea of killing the man. This suggests internal conflict. He isn’t happy about killing someone but is trying to reassure himself that the actions had to be done.
The use of enjambment to link to the fourth stanza adds the effect to a natural speech. The narrator reflects that the man he killed probably “thought he’d ‘list” because he had no other work and had sold his belongings. He also notices that maybe their situation was similar as both were “off-hand” with no alternative but to join the army. There was “no other reason” as to why they enlisted for the war. This shows a human vs. society conflict because the reason why they joined the war was far from being patriotic decision as other people in the country thought but because it was a last resort and they didn’t have any other options.
In final stanza he questions the motives of war. He says that war is “quaint and curious” as a form of mockery explaining how pointless a war actually is. He shares the contrast between how he treated the man and how he would have treated. He confesses that war is strange because he finds himself forced to kill a man, which he otherwise would have bought a drink for or lent “half a crown”, if they had met in times of peace.
Through this poem, Hardy is expressing the human vs. social conflict. He shows the stupidity of the war as compared to the patriotic beliefs towards war of those at home. He is also conveying the message that soldiers didn’t kill other because they hated each but because of the war circumstances.
