The Man he Killed by Thomas Hardy: GCSE

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." 

Context: 

Thomas Hardy wrote ‘The Man he Killed’ in the time of the Boer War. He didn’t like the increasing industrialisation of Britain, taking away the heritage of ordinary working people working their land. This poem shows his concern for working men who have only joined the army because their traditional skills have lost value and their livelihood is gone. In his novels and poetry, Hardy presented characters whose harsh fate was decided by the usually thoughtless and selfish actions of wealthy and entitled people. 

Meaning: 

When war comes, working men enlisted to the army follow orders but even their simple minds are able to grasp the irony that if they met the individual men on the opposite side in normal life, they would probably buy them a drink as a friend. His naïve understanding of his situation makes us ashamed of our support of war and our supposedly educated understanding and lack of charity. 

Structure and form: 

The poem is presented in an inquisitive and curious tone of voice - the internal thoughts of a working man who enlisted as a soldier. His simple logic is matter-of-fact but his observations are profound which makes the point he is making even more hard-hitting.  

The poem is presented in five stanzas, each with four lines with six beats each apart from the third line which has eight beats – this gives a regular pattern with the impression of order and predictability. All stanzas are one whole sentence apart from stanzas three and four which are one long sentence. 

Stanzas 1 and 5 reflect on the irony of the situation described in Stanzas 2-4 

Stanza 1: The narrator cheerfully reflects on the irony of the situation he is in 

Stanza 2: The narrative describes the events of war in which men shoot at each other 

Stanza 3: The narrator presents his reasoning, although he himself knows that it is flawed 

Stanza 4: The narrator thinks about the similarities between himself and the man he killed 

Stanza 5: Reflects on the same irony as stanza 1 

Moods and themes in the poem: 

• Cheerful, upbeat mood – emphasises the sad reality of men ordered to kill each other in war 
• Theme of a traditional way of life being destroyed 

• Innocence and experience – the reader understands the terrible irony but the narrator doesn’t 

Organisation of the poem: 

The poem is presented in five stanzas, each stanza a quatrain (four lines) using six beats in each line apart from the third line which has three. This gives a steady, even beat or rhythm, suggesting the ordered but unstoppable march of soldiers following the orders of their superiors. 

Language: 

Title uses third person pronoun ‘he’ contrasting with the first-person language of the poem – gives the reader a less personal, more detached view of the narrator of the poem  

Stanza 1:  

• Pronouns used instead of names: ‘he’, ‘I’ ‘We’ – shows the reader how the narrator could be anyone 

• Theme of leisure/ enjoyment: ‘old ancient inn’, ‘set us down to wet’ – the reader understands the simple pleasures of the narrator’s home-life 
• Informal language/ dialect: ‘set us down to wet’ = sat down to drink, ‘right many’ = a lot, ‘nipperkin’ = glass of beer – gives the reader a realistic window into the everyday language of ordinary working men 

Stanza 2:  

• Blunt, simple language used: ‘I shot at him as he at me’, ‘and killed him’ – suggests to the reader that the actions of war are not difficult 

Stanzas 3 and 4: 

• Sentence structure: two stanzas in one sentence which is chopped up into short sections with commas, dashes and semi-colons – shows the way in which the narrator’s ideas and thoughts about the man are trying to make sense of the situation - and failing 
• Repetition: ‘because’, ‘my foe’ – shows his uncertainty about his motives for killing the man 
• Internal rhyme: ‘just so, my foe’ – slows down the reading experience to make the reader stop and think   

Stanza 5: 

• Inappropriate adjectives used by the narrator to describe war: ‘quaint and curious’ – shows the reader how innocent the man is, dramatic irony because we know better 

• Use of second person pronouns: ‘You’ – confronts the reader with the situation as if we are experiencing it ourselves. Makes us ask, would we do the same? Are we as easily led? 

Revision Questions for 'The Man he Killed'

1. How does Hardy use an 'innocent' tone of voice to communicate his message more effectively?
2. What are the patterns in rhyme and rhythm in this poem? In what ways do they help you to understand the message of the poem?
3. How does the writer use language to make his point stronger?