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Comparison Of How Annandale Went Out And To The Mercy Killers

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Recommended: Theme of death in poetry

The poems “To the Mercy Killers” by Dudley Randall and “How Annandale Went Out” by Edwin Arlington Robinson are both about the same topic, death by euthanasia, but there are still many differences between the each of these. The two meanings of the poems are shown through the use of various literary devices but ultimately revolve around the same idea; the concept of mercy killing. The main difference between the two poems are the stance each one takes on euthanasia.

“To the Mercy Killers” by Dudley Randall is a poem about euthanasia. The speaker begs for his or her life, even though they seem to be better off dead. They are desperate, pleading for another chance to live. Through the use of imagery and pathos, the speaker describes the theme …show more content…

“To the Mercy Killers” focuses on the speaker’s pleads to not be killed from pity, that they want another chance to live, while “How Annandale Went Out” has the opposing view. In “How Annandale Went Out”, the subject is euthanized, and relieved of their pain. The overall themes in the two poems are similar, but in “To the Mercy Killers” the theme is desperation to live, while the theme of “How Annandale Went Out” is the relief in death. “To the Mercy Killers” addresses its version of the theme of death directly when it says “never conspire with death to set me free” (3). This shows the speaker’s strong will to live, and desperation, while “How Annandale Went Out” views death in a different way. Line 4 of “How Annandale Went Out” says that “the sight was not so fair”, meaning that upon seeing the damage, the only logical option for the friend and doctor in Annandale’s case was to choose death, which contrasts “To the Mercy Killers” opposing theme. The speaker and point of view in each poem is different as well. In “To the Mercy Killers” the speaker is the one begging to be pardoned of a potential pity killing, while the speaker in “How Annandale Went Out” is the one that is responsible for the euthanasia of the one suffering. The intended audiences of the poems are different as well, with “To the Mercy Killers” being focused towards the mercy killers themselves, and “How Annandale Went Out” being aimed towards those who criticized the choice of euthanasia. Overall, the differences in theme and the speaker cause the meanings and content of the two poems to differ, giving each poem its own

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