Description
After reading the directions carefully, and when you are finished writing, please submit the essay for grading.
First, explain in simple contemporary language what is going on in each set of lines (or stanza)—write as if this were being said today in a local club or bar. In other words, change the language here from that of late 19th century England to that of a club in your city or region today.
Then explain about the narrator’s (the speaker's in the poem--not Thomas Hardy's) argument about why he killed the man. Then, based on his language and delivery, explain his argument--whether or not he feels he did the right thing when he killed the man. Finally, explain the narrator’s attitude (or feelings) toward war itself.
In your essay be specific. Use “proof” from the poem to show your argument or points. This proof will be specific statements the narrator makes.
“The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy
"Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have sat us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin! [a half pint of beer]
"But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.
"I shot him dead because —
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That's clear enough; although
"He thought he'd 'list, perhaps, [list is slang for enlist]
Off-hand like — just as I —
Was out of work — had sold his traps — [trappings—his clothes, tools, belongings]
No other reason why.
"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." [English coin, like saying a few bucks]
Use MLA format
Explanation & Answer
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Analysis of “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy
In the first stanza, the speaker begins off by imagining that he and another man could
have met at a local inn and shared a drink. The fact that this stanza is only an imagination stems
from the use of “but” in the first line. The term “nipperkin” refers to a container for storing
alcohol. As such, the speaker imagines that had he and the man met under different
circumstances, in an inn, they would have drank many nipperkins (Graves 56). This dramatic
start of the poem indicates that the speaker did not wish to kill the man as the title of the poem
indicates, but wished that they could have been friends, maybe long-term friends. The author has
a clear conscience that it was not his wish that he engaged in killing the man.
In the second stanza, the speaker introduces the reader to the current situation and scene.
The use of “but” helps to guide the reader to switch from the imaginative part to the reality,
where the speaker will, without initial desire to do so, shoot the man so that he is safe from being
shot himself. The speaker states that they were many in the battle field, ranged as infantry – they
were foot soldiers (Graves 57). The staring aspect helps to show the reader that the speaker was
very close with the one he shot. The speaker recounts how they shot at each other, but he was
lucky to shoot the opponent and kill him from where he was standing. The speaker is clear that
the shooting was close range, and that the man he killed was the only opponent at the time. This
stems from the fact that the speaker does not engage in shooting another person, nor does another
soldier shoot at him (Patil 42). The speaker also does not ponder much on how he felt or how the
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man he shot felt, an indication that he was experienced in the task. His experience also stems
from the fact that he was victorious during the shooting, even though they were both at close
range, staring and shooting at each other.
In the third stanza, the speaker explains his reasons for killing the man. At first, in the
first two lines of the stanza, it seems that the speaker is uncertain why he ki...
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