The man he killed Flashcards
Recall the 1st stanza of the poem, starting from “Had he and I…”
“Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have sat us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!
Recall the 2nd stanza of the poem, starting from “but ranged as infantry…”
“But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.
Recall the 3rd stanza of the poem, starting from “I shot him dead because….”
“I shot him dead because —
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That’s clear enough; although
Recall the 4th stanza of the poem, starting from “He thought he’d list….”
“He thought he’d ‘list, perhaps,
Off-hand like — just as I —
Was out of work — had sold his traps —
No other reason why.
Recall the 5th stanza of the poem, starting from “Yes;quaint and curious….”
“Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You’d treat if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown.”
Describe the structure of the poem
- dramatic monologue
- informal language
- Rhyme scheme (ABAB)
Is there a first person narrator or a third person narrator?
A first person narrator so its from someones personal account
Line 1 “ had he and i”
What does this quote establish?
It establishes a common ground between him and the man he killed
What does the word ‘nipperkin’ suggest?
That the two men in the poem are ordinary working class people
The quote “face to face” makes the account very…
personal
Give a quote that suggests that the narrator believes he had no choice, and had to kill the other man? (in stanza 2)
“I shot at him as he at me”
What does the hesitation is “because-because” tell us?
That the narrator can not think of a justificable reason for why he killed the man and that hes trying to convince himself that his actions were right
What does the word ‘although’ at the end of stanza 3 show?
The narrators unsurity
Describe the rhythm of the poem?
- written in iambic rhythm of unstressed-stressed syllables (iambic trimeter for 3 lines and iambic tetrameter for one line)
The warm setting of an ‘ancient inn’ contrasts with…
The war that was taking place at the time
