I Sing The Battle Poem Figurative Language

One may believe that war is full of hatred and pain, while another may claim that war is victorious, proving man to be faithful to their country. In Harry Kemp’s “I Sing the Battle” both opinions are analyzed through his theme of with victory comes pain. To enhance the reader’s understanding of the theme, Kemp incorporated multiple types of figurative language. For instance, when Kemp uses a simile, he compares two objects thats underlying message connects back to the theme. Additionally, through his use of personification, he enables one to relate to the occurrence and imagine the scene, although they had not witnessed it. Also, it embodies the theme and allows the message to be heard from all around the world. In Harry Kemp’s “I Sing the

In line eight Kemp uses figurative language in the form of a simile to write, “Ah, but the broken bodies that drip like honey-comb!” (Kemp 8). This simile compares the soldiers’ broken bodies to honey dripping from its comb. When the quote mentions the broken bodies, it is referring to all of the killed soldiers, who had experienced and witnessed such torment. However, the simile continues to compare the dead to a dripping honeycomb, which can be interpreted as the deceased soldiers dying a graceful, brave, and heroic death. During the time of the men’s deaths, they had dropped to the ground in an elegant manner, with the light of a prowess shining on them. Thus, the image of dedicated men giving their life for their country is placed in the minds of the readers. The simile enhances the theme, through the broken bodies representing the pain of war, while dripping like a honeycomb represents the victorious heroes of war. Not only does Kemp use a simile to tie back to his theme, but he also incorporates other forms of figurative

Kemp claims “I Sing the song of the great clean guns that belch forth death at will.” (Kemp 1), which enriches the overall meaning of the theme. Moreover, the figurative language gives the guns the ability to belch, which is a human action that guns are not capable of producing. In result of the excerpt stating that the guns are belching, the reader may relate to the quote, because they have burped themselves, allowing them to tie in their prior knowledge to connect with the guns. The belching, which represents how the guns were gushing out bullets, firing at their opponents. Then the personification goes on to state that the guns are exploding with “death at will”, meaning that the guns are determined to fight their arduous battle, never fretting the consequences. Evidently, the personification and theme go hand in hand, with the rapid firing of the guns exposing the chaotic and painful side of war, while the willingness to devote their life to the battle exposes the victorious side of a