English Literature. Pre-1914 War Poetry.

Rhyme reinforces/emphasises the poets thoughts.

Hyaenas.

- Has an 'abab' rhyme scheme (eve/leave, fled/dead, eat/meat.. etc).

- Has no regular rhythm but 7 syllable lines occur throughout the poem (last verse is more rhythmic as it articulates the poets message).

Dirge of the Dead Sisters.

- The rhythm of this poem matches a funeral march.

- It is written in trochaic heptameter (this means the stress is on the firsth syllable and heptameter tells us it has 7 metrical feet)

- This rhythm is important as the stress is on the 'Who?' (the question posed by the poem)

History:

- Battle fought on 13th August 1704 in Vienna

- 50,000 men died and the French power was completely defeated

Setting:

- On the battle field (80 years from the battle)

- Tranquil summer evening

- Old Kaspar (who farms on the land) is with his grandchildren

Structure:

- It is a narrative poem

- Includes dialogue

- Numbered stanzas, each involving a new piece of information

Language:

- Tranquility at the beginning (like 'Come up from the fields, father')

- Peterkin rolling 'something large and round', the word 'something' interupts the serene calm with a note of uncertainty

- Turns out to be a skull (very macabre)

- 'Great victory' (changes to 'famous victory') is repeated to emphasise the children's accurate response to Old Kaspar's story, that war is wicked and pointless

'C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre. C'est de la folie.' (It is magnificent, but it is not war. It is folly.) - French General witnessing the 'Charge of the Light Brigade'.

Poem shows the glory of war but also the folly of it - 'Charge for the guns!'

Timeline:

(PAST)

Battle of Blenheim (Austro-Hungarian War)

Charge of the Light Brigade (Crimean War)

Come up from the fields, father (American Civil War)

War / Wife in London / Hyaenas / Dirge of the dead sisters (Boer War)

(PRESENT)