The+Man+He+Killed

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!

"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, Off-hand like — just as I — Was out of work — had sold his traps — 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."


 * ===Biographical Information ===
 * Born in Dorset, England in 1840
 * Died in Dorset, England in 1928
 * Few Miles From Birthplace

Thomas Hardy spent his entire life in one relative area. His father was a stonemason and his mother was an intelligent woman who helped to educate Thomas in his earlier years. In 1862 he began his career as an architect, where he received much success. He received awards and recognition from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architectural Institution. He trained as an Architectural Apprentice in London and Dorset for ten years. His interest in social issues was sparked from his lack of ability to move from the lower class structure. He moved from London back to Dorset to begin his career as a writer. He published his first Novel, //Desperate Remedies// in 1871. He received relative success from these works so continued with //Tess of the D'Urbervilles// and //Jude the// Obscure. The victorian readers gave Hardy poor reviews since he used too many sexual references and pessimistic ideas. After these reviews he abandoned fictional writing for poetry. The plots in his works revolved around tragic characters. He was influenced by his poor and rural area and the critical influences of the Victorian society. He liked to show a struggle of Ethics in given social situations. Towards the end of his life, he got sick with pleurisy, a condition where the linings of the lungs and chest become inflamed. His heart was buried with his first wife, Emma. His ashes were buried in a separate "Poets Corner" of Westminster Abbey cemetery. His journals and notebooks were burnt after his death so much of his work was lost. Despite the burning of some of his work, Hardy's second wife published many of his journals and life stories the year he died, furthering his legacy.


 * ===Historical Context ===
 * Boer War
 * Began in October, 1899
 * British Declared War on South African Republic
 * Boers were unhappy with England's Liberal Policies and Revolted
 * Fighting Over Diamonds and Gold Found in Southern Africa
 * Women and Children were Killed in Camps
 * Thomas Hardy was Appalled by the Boer War
 * Believed that it was Unnecessary Human Suffering
 * Shows His Antiwar Sentiment
 * Refused to Write Uplifting Words to Support the War
 * ===Interpretations and Critiques ===
 * David Perkins
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Connected Hardy's Ideas to the Ideas of Isolation
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">"It is precisely in his sensitivity to the frustration and tragedy of human life that Hardy feels himself cut off from other men."
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The understatements and irony used in "The Man He Killed" show how two men who do not know each other kill one another
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Impersonal Connections further show Isolationism
 * Believes the protagonists in Hardy's work are normally lonely and hurt in some way
 * Tyrus Miller
 * Described "The Man He Killed" as a disillusioned, great antiwar poem
 * Believes this story was something Hardy overheard at a tavern
 * The poem has a "dramatic quality" that shows an isolated view
 * "Limited Awareness" of the situation
 * ===<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Theme ===
 * War is an irrational concept that leads men to do unspeakable acts to people they do not know.
 * "I shot him dead because- Because he was my foe."
 * Hesitated when explaining the purpose behind shooting his enemy
 * Shows no rational behind the killings and says this in a candid manner
 * Hardy intends to show the lack or remorse and dehumanization caused by war
 * The consequences of an action can be dire, so think before you act.
 * The man killed was a stranger, but he still had the ability to commit this crime against humanity.
 * ===<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Figurative Language and Components ===
 * Repetition
 * "I shot" is repeated to show the action committed and the attempt at coming to terms with ending someone's life.
 * Repeats the words "my foe" to convince himself that shooting that man was the right thing to do.
 * Imagery
 * "I shot him dead" and "an old ancient inn" can demonstrate negative connotations and relay Hardy's negative emotions towards war. His recognition of the act of murder shows remorse.
 * Irony
 * Had the two men met at a bar, they might not have been foes, but acquaintances instead. Puts emphasis on Hardy's negative feelings towards war and how pointless he believed it was.
 * Rhyme Scheme
 * ABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GHGH/IJIJ
 * Simple rhyme scheme puts more emphasis on each word and helps to get Hardy's message across. As the poem progresses, it seems that the narrator feels worse and worse about his actions.
 * Meter
 * 5 Quatrains
 * 20 Lines
 * There is a use of short meters
 * Extended length to the third line in every stanza
 * This style dramatizes each word, specifically on the third line
 * ===<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Tone and Mood ===
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Guilty and filled with despair
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">These emotions are created by Hardy as he first describes how war causes such destruction, when in reality there does not need to be fighting. This shows how ironic it is that two men happened to enlist in the war effort are suddenly "foes."
 * Satirical
 * War creates senseless murder in the eyes of Hardy so he creates a satirical and candid tone to simply get his point across. There is a sign of a lighter tone in the start of the poem when the two characters are meeting at the bar, but Hardy is quick to switch this by the second stanza. He shows what could have been and then takes it away, creating a sense of irony.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Sources:

Encyclopedia. http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/man-he-killed#D Hardy, Thomas. "The Man He Killed." Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/thomas-hardy