Poetic Language and Devices

Read the poem. War is Kind by Stephen Crane Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind. Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky And the affrighted steed ran on alone, Do not weep. War is kind. Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment, Little souls who thirst for fight, These men were born to drill and die. The unexplained glory flies above them, Great is the battle god, great, and his kingdom A field where a thousand corpses lie. Do not weep, babe, for war is kind. Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches, Raged at his breast, gulped and died, Do not weep. War is kind. Swift blazing flag of the regiment, Eagle with crest of red and gold, These men were born to drill and die. Point for them the virtue of slaughter, Make plain to them the excellence of killing And a field where a thousand corpses lie. Mother whose heart hung humble as a button On the bright splendid shroud of your son, Do not weep. War is kind. What is the connotative meaning of the phrase "threw wild hands toward the sky" in Stanza 1?

It connotes the helplessness and fear of the man in the face of death.

Read the poem. Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind. Gas! Gas! Quick boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And floundering like a man in fire or lime — Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori. What effect does the phrase "helpless sight" in Stanza 2 have on the poem?

It conveys the speaker's feeling of powerlessness.

Read the poem. There Will Come Soft Rains by Sara Teasdale There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, And swallows circling with their shimmering sound; And frogs in the pools singing at night, And wild-plum trees in tremulous white; Robins will wear their feathery fire Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire; And not one will know of the war, not one Will care at last when it is done. Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree, If mankind perished utterly; And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, Would scarcely know that we were gone. Reread these lines from the poem: And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn, Would scarcely know that we were gone. What is the effect of the figurative language on the tone of the poem?

It creates a melancholy tone, as the personification of spring suggests indifference to humans.

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this poem. In Wilfred Owen's poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," the speaker describes "the hoots of the gas shells," as if the gas shells are human beings capable of calling out. What effect does this personification have on the description?

It creates the feeling that the deadly weapons are mocking their victims.

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this poem. Read these lines from "Come Up from the Fields Father" by Walt Whitman. ...(the just-grown daughter speaks through her sobs, the little sisters huddle around speechless and dismay'd)... What impact does alliteration have on these lines? Select each correct answer.

The gathering of s sounds enhances the picture of the daughters gathered close together. The unity of sound leads to a sense of unity in the lines as they move forward.

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this poem. Read these lines from "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen. Gas! Gas! Quick boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling, Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone still was yelling out and stumbling... How do these lines evoke a sense of the time and place in which this poem is set?

The repetition of the word gas, the exclamation "Quick boys," and the reference to "helmets" all help convey that this poem takes place during World War I and describes a chemical weapons attack.