Have you ever done something hurtful for no good reason? In The Man He Killed by Thomas Hardy A man in the war is speaking through the poem to describe an incident where he kills a man. War urges people to act rashly for what seems like no purpose. We see this through the background of the poet, how the poem is laid out, and the irony found peeking through the lines. Hardy was born in an english village called Dorset. It became the center for almost all of his literary works’ including novels and poems. His father wished for Thomas to follow in his footsteps, to become a stonemason, but his mother challenged him to pursue his literary interests. Hardy had a strong love for reading, yet in spite of his parents attempt to plan his future, he choose an apprenticeship, to learn architecture, in london for 10 years. He lived from 1840-1928. Notice he was alive through both the modern era and the renaissance. Also, living through World War two, which he wrote many …show more content…
Every stanza connects through a AABA pattern of six syllables, six, eight ,then back to six. And every other configuration’s ending word rhyme with each other. For example, ‘perhaps’ and ‘traps’. This creates the feeling of a song comparable to a lullaby. Notably, there are two exclamation points, ‘Right many a nipperkin!’ and ‘Yes; quaint and curious war is!. A nipperkin is a liquid cup that holds half-pint cup. With some context from the beginning lines the sentence is saying if we meet we would drink together. The second phrases is straightforward equivalenting war with quaint (attractively unusual) and curious (strange). Notably, one is the last line of the first stanza and the other is the first line of the last stanza. This emphasis creates a distinction between the two phrases (one about having drinks while the other explains war). Having drinks sounds light and airy. However, war brings heavy eyes and deep