War - Mary Gilmore
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Mary Gilmore's confronting representation of war was shaped by her experiences. Considering Gilmore was at her prime writing career when World War II took place, it had a very influential impact on her writing. . That’s where war’s extensive emotion comes
into play; her emotion was relatable to the era in which she wrote the poem. It
was her journalistic and political background in writing newspaper articles
that helped develop, her own perception of war. This personal view helped make
one of the most dramatically emotional poems of her time.
“War” catches a mother’s perspective beautifully. Imagine the heartache you would be feeling if someone came knocking on your door telling you your son was dead, but he died a ‘hero’s’ death. It would be excoriating, and this is displayed all throughout Gilmore’s poem as she describes the son’s funeral. ‘This beat of the drum/ was clods on the heart.’(line 12-13) This line describes the drums beat as being something of importance, like a military song of respect when a solider dies. Its beat heavy (clod) on the heart portrays the painful realisation that the mother’s boy is dead in an almost physical sense. This is where you really feel the tone of the poem, its tone being; respectful, serious and sad. Furthermore, Gilmore uses onomatopoeia to ensure readers feel as though they are there, ‘I heard the crackle/ Of hasty cheers.’ (Line 16-17) Crackle, it vibrates through their senses, and the reader hears the rushed cheers around them, even though they aren't actually there. It’s also Gilmore’s use of personification that allows it to become more real. ‘Of hasty cheers/ Run like the breaking/ Of unshed tears.’ (Line 17-19) It’s allowing the reader to understand the poem clearer; the cheers are run like the breaking of unshed tears. So there guided. Her professional use of rhyme makes the poem flow easily and more clearly. For example; ‘I stood at the door/ Where he went out/ Full grown man/ Ruddy and stout.’ Out and stout are the rhyming words. The small use of symbolism allows the reader to understand the perspective of the situation better. The regiment is a symbol of the military and their gratitude and sympathy for the families who lost loved ones in the war. The regiment are there to give respect to the families from the surviving soldiers. But for some people the regiment are just a reminder of what they've lost; a sad reminder. This poem combined with its dramatic symbolism has a powerful use of irony. The first paragraph of the poem is ironic to the last paragraph, because the poet’s son is compared to a dying dog as he died in war, while the military said the poet’s son died a ‘hero’s’ death. Dying like a dog, which died in the streets, isn't heroic, but almost meaningless. It’s this irony in the poem that makes it confronting. It’s the powerful irony that the reader finds themselves tearing up at. In conclusion, this poem's confronting manner and the use of sneaky powerful poetic devices puts this poem as one of the best poems of Gilmore's time. |