Generals - Original

Generals

Generals
Cunning, Conniving
Assaulting, Defending, Besieging
Live for glorious wars
Warlords

This poem is a cinquain about generals. It describes them not just as the valiant people they are on the surface, but also as the shady schemers away from the public. Line 3 describes what the three forms of battle that a proper general must master. The last line “warlords” describes what great generals end up becoming; rather than serving a master, they begin to garner power for themselves, eventually becoming rulers in their own rights.
There are not many literary devices used in this poem, due to its length. Line 2 has alliteration of the hard “c” sound, and line 3 has assonance of the “ee” sound.
This fits the theme of war because generals are, of course, an integral driving force behind wars.

Ode to the Common Soldier - Original

Ode to the Common Soldier

Last year you stood strong atop the tallest mountain of white,
Watching over the lonely gates that defended the civilians and their cattle.
The year after, you marched across a desert of golden light,
A journey so perilous that your armour rotted from constant battle.
But history forgets you, you common warrior.
Even sacrificing your life, you are but another mangled body,
And often your lifeless body will be deemed insignificant enough to be left behind.
When you liberate a city from oppressors it is your commander who is hailed the savior.
It is truly a pity that while kings are adorned with riches so gaudy,
That you, a true hero, are forgotten from the epic story that is mankind.


Explication:
This poem is an ode with the English version rhyme scheme of ABABCDECDE. The idea of the poem is to offer praise to the regular soldiers who fights in renowned battles but are never remembered. The first four lines mostly highlights “the soldier’s” heroic deeds and courage. He had witnessed the full scope of the empire, from snowy mountains to vast dry plains. He had defended the people, as well as invaded into harsh climates. The last six lines laments the unfortunate trend whereby the aforementioned gallantry is forgotten overtime, while all that remains in memory is the history he helped write.
The poem has no rhythm structure, but maintains the strict rhyme pattern. The first line has alliteration with “stood strong.” The second last line has assonance of the “ee” sound, with the words “truly, pity, gaudy.” I tried to create an image of the harsh places the soldier had travelled to, and this was to stress the loyalty of the soldier. Of course, this soldier isn’t a particular person, so speaking to him would be an apostrophe. Lastly a personification is used to describe how “the lonely gates … defended the civilians.”
This fits the theme of war by focusing on an individual participant.

Bloody Brotherhood - Original

Bloody Brotherhood

Oh my dear brother.
You and I come from the same womb,
But circumstances have ripped us apart.
For this piece of metal that adorns the head of the monarch,
You have tormented me for most of my life.

I remember a time when you and I were children,
Before this great evil has manifested in the form of the corrupt succession,
We were inseparable, and stood by each other.
I remember once I fell into the water reserves tank.
Everyone panicked, but you instinctively picked up a big boulder and smashed the tank, saving me.

If I were a chestnut, you would be the timber from the tree.
You fuel the fire that is used to roast me,
And all I can do in my iron wok is endure my lengthy suffering.
We were of the same entity,
So wherefore must you be so eager to kill me?


Explication
This is a free verse poem. It tells of one brother’s thoughts of grief over how the succession of their father’s throne has torn them apart. The central theme of this poem and what the narrator is trying to get across to his brother is that kin should not want each other dead. The narrator is trying to persuade his brother to end the grudge. The first stanza summarizes the situation. The second then goes back in time to talk about simpler times, before this grudge emerged. In the stanza, the brother asks his brother why they are doing this.
As a free verse poem, this poem does not have a rhyme scheme or a strict rhythmic pattern. There is an extended metaphor in the third stanza, in which the brothers are compared to a tree and chestnuts, symbolizing the paradoxical relationship between the two brothers. Also, “iron wok” is a metaphor because the brother is saying his state of helplessness is like a chestnut in an iron wok. In line 5, the “m” sound is repeated as an alliteration with the words “me, most, my.”
This fits the theme of war because it is a personal aspect on the grand scheme of things.

A BURNT SHIP

A BURNT SHIP
by John Donne

Out of a fired ship, which by no way
But drowning could be rescued from the flame,
Some men leap'd forth, and ever as they came
Near the foes' ships, did by their shot decay;
So all were lost, which in the ship were found,
They in the sea being burnt, they in the burnt ship drowned.

This poem is an epigram by John Donne originally published in 1633. It describes a scene of a burning ship in the ocean. The men on board are helplessly cast into their deaths either by being burnt on the ship, or by drowning in the ocean. The enemy around the ship made sure all survivors are non-existent. The last line offers a twist that is characteristic of an epigram, as it uses an oxymoronic statement to describe the soldiers’ fates. They were either burnt in the sea, or drowned in the ship.
The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABBACC. It is a syllabic verse, with 10 syllables per line, except the last time. The poem uses strong imagery to capture the scene of the event, using words like “fired ship.” In each of the first 5 lines, the “f” sound appears once, in “fired”, “flame”, “forth”, “foes”, and “found”. In line 4, the author uses alliteration for “ships” and “shot”. Finally, the oxymoronic last line is a paradox, as it states people in the sea were burnt by the fire around the ship, and people in the ship were drowned as it sank.

THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB

THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB
Lord Byron

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

This is poem is first published in 1815, and it describes the events of the Assyrian king Sennachrib’s attack on the Israelites, as depicted in the Bible. The poem tells of how the evil Assyrians preyed upon the innocent people of Israel (described them as a “fold,” or a flock of sheep). The Assyrian army is cast in a mighty and elegant light, with armour “gleaming in purple and gold.” However, this great army soon withered and fell against the feeble Israelites with aid from the Angel of Death.
The poem is written in quatrains of 2 sets of rhyming couplets each. It has a strong accentual-syllabic meter (4 beats and 12 syllables each line). This allows the poem to eloquently roll off the tongue. The author uses much imagery to portray the battle. For example “wolf on the fold” we can imagine easily a powerful beast attacking a weak little sheep. “Gleaming in purple and gold” describes the wealth of the army. Many other phrases of leaves, sunset, withering, and pale all serve to create a powerful image in the reader’s head. The poem has irony, because after such a build up of describing the greatness of the Assyrian army, it is only revealed that the Israelites prevailed. There is also much use of simile, such as in the first line, and also in the second stanza where the same simile structure is used to draw a clear contrast between the great army at sunset and the same army now decimated at dawn, like leaves of summer to leaves of autumn. Many allusions are made, to the Bible, to the god Baal of the Assyrians that fell to the real God, and the harbinger of death that is the Angel of Death. Lord Byron uses a great deal of literary devices to create such a powerful poem.
This poem completely captures the ideas of war: of glory, of innocence, of death, so it fits very well with my theme.

Ambushers - Original

The darkness of midnight was at its peak,
And shrouded by it were a man and his love.
Their affairs were notorious in the era,
And even more scandalous than the schemes of Hera.

All of the land had eyes on the lovebirds,
‘Cause they were the source of their salvation.
But prowling about in the bushes around the two,
Were deathly shadows waiting to do their master’s bidding.

But a handful of braves stood to defend
The lives of the couple to the very end.
The great captain of the squad through years of fight,
Had long foreseen this fateful night.

In a valiant attempt for one last stand,
He rallied his men to take up arms.
A pitch-black crow flew under the moon,
Casting a shadow that marked a certain doom

The men were staunch like the three hundred Spartans,
Confident that all would learn of their great deed.
Alas, the dreaded hour had befallen the land,
As the love doves closed in for their untimely kiss.

The captain mustered his battalion to the rescue,
But his gallant attempt failed at the end.
The assassins soared up from their bushes of refuge,
And launched a volley of shots at the couple.

The captain arrived to unleash all wraths,
But the assassins scampered away in all possible paths.
They ran into the night with their high-def pictures,
Which showed Britney and K-Fed once again together.

The couple blinked trying to shake off the barrage,
And the captain of the bodyguards stood there ruefully.
By next day the photos were seen by all,
And made front cover headlines over the disaster in Darfur.


This poem is written in the form of a mock epic. It satirizes the modern-day society’s dependency on celebrities. Up until the end of the poem, the reader should be thinking that the poem describes an ancient assassination story, but is hit with the revelation of the true plot. Mostly the poem is just for fun, but the last line does offer some insight into how our over-focused attention to the lives of idols leaves little room for more important things to be noticed.
Some elements of poetic devices are scattered through the poem. The poem rhymes irregularly. I used allusions, such as the mention of “Hera” and the “three hundred Spartans.” There is also simile in the poem, such as the line “The men were staunch like the three hundred Spartans.”
This poem fits the theme of war as a witty and light aspect of war.

Deliver Us - Original

Deliver Us

Generations in bondage our people has suffered,
A lifetime of whips with little joy offered.
Mud and water, straw and sand,
Our people, like beasts, have carved this land.
Deliver us, deliver us.

We gather at night for a silent prayer
Hoping against hope for an end to our despair.
Parents comfort their babies so that they won’t cry,
But parents will shed a tear as they utter a broken lullaby.
Deliver us, deliver us.

We are broken, we have nothing to give,
We are mere men asking for a chance to live.
The malice of slavery grows too cruel to stand,
The only thing left for us is your promised land.
Deliver us, deliver us.


Explication:
This poem is written using rhyming couplets, plus a repeated line at the end of every stanza. It describes the anguish of the Hebrew people during their time of bondage under the Egyptian rulers. It is from a Hebrew slave’s perspective, and he speaks of a lifetime of suffering, a sense of helplessness, and a slim hope for his God to free them. “Generations” and “a lifetime” both describe the duration of the suffering. The day involves nothing but work, lugging enormous bricks up and down the temples and pyramids. At night, the people do not dare to make a sound, and can only pray silently to their God. Parent try to comfort their children, while in need of comfort themselves. The last stanza is a plea for the God to save the Hebrew people.
I used repetition at the end of every stanza, to stress the only thing that the Hebrew people were thinking about: to be freed. It is an accentual verse: there are 4 beats to a line. Because the narrator is speaking to God, there is use of apostrophe. “Our people like beasts” is an example of simile. Lastly, the entire poem of course is an allusion to the stories from the bible.
This poem fits the theme as it describes a possible reason for war.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

The Charge of the Light Brigade”
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone had blunder’d:
Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;

Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade ?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!


Explication
The poem tells the story of a brigade of 600 cavalry soldiers who rode into the “valley of death.” They were given a command to charge the enemy forces which outnumbered them greatly.
The soldiers rode on courageously despite realizing that their commander made a terrible mistake. They were neither discouraged nor distressed, as it was a soldier’s job to follow orders. The horsemen faced cannon fire all around, but still reached the enemy lines and slashed at the gunners. The rest of the world looked on in wonder as the cavalry beat back their opponents, and began to ride back.
Cannons still fired at them, and most of the soldiers died. The world marvelled at the courage of the soldiers; indeed, their glory is undying: the poem states these noble 600 men remain worthy of honor and tribute today.

The poem is separated into six stanzas, each varying in length from six to twelve lines. Each line is in dimeter, which means it has two stressed syllables; moreover, each stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed syllables, making the rhythm dactylic. The rhyme scheme varies with each stanza. Often, Tennyson uses the same rhyme (and occasionally even the same final word) for several consecutive lines: “Flashed all their sabres bare / Flashed as they turned in air / Sab’ring the gunners there.” Lastly, the use of repetition with the lines “Cannon to the…” creates a sense that the soldiers are completing an impossible deed.

This poem is comprised of six numbered stanzas varying in length from six to twelve lines. The use of “falling” rhythm, in which the stress is on the first beat of each metrical unit, and then “falls off” for the rest of the length of the meter, is appropriate in a poem about the devastating fall of the British brigade.
The poem also makes use of anaphora, in which the same word is repeated at the beginning of several consecutive lines: “Cannon to right of them / Cannon to left of them / Cannon in front of them.” Here the method creates a sense of unrelenting assault; at each line our eyes meet the word “cannon,” just as the soldiers meet their flying shells at each turn.

Nameless

By Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

Norfolk sprang thee, Lambeth holds thee dead,
Clere of the County of Cleremont though hight;
Within the womb of Ormond’s race thou bred,
And saw’st thy cousin crowned in thy sight.
Shelton for love, Surrey for Lord thou chase:
Ay me, while life did last that league was tender;
Tracing whose steps thou saw’st Kelsal blaze,
Laundersey burnt, and battered Bullen render.
At Muttrell gates, hopeless of all recure,
Thine Earl half dead gave 1in thy hand his Will;
Which cause did thee this pining death procure,
Ere summers four times seven thou couldn’st fulfil.
Ah Clere, if loved had booted, care, or cost,
Heaven had not won, nor Earth so timely lost.


This poem is a Shakespearean Sonnet. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and Thomas Clere, his squire and companion, fought together in expeditions to Kelsal in Scotland, Landrecy in the Netherlands, and Boulogne in France. At the siege of Montreuil, on 19 September 1544, Clere received wounds while protecting Surrey, from which he died the following spring. He was buried at Lambeth, in the chapel assigned to the Howards.
This Shakespearean Sonnet has the defining rhyming couplet at the end. The poems employs alliteration heavily, such as in line 2 with the hard “c” sound (Clere, County, and Cleremont) and then again in line 6 with a hard “l” sound (life, last, and league). There is also consonance of the “s” sound in line 7 and line 12. As the Earl participated in the battle, he uses lots of allusions to the specific people and places that were related to the events.
The poem is describing what led to Clere’s death during a medieval siege, which is strongly related to the theme of war.

Winter Blossom - Original

Winter Blossom
Crimson battlefield,
Silent snow falls on the dead.
Peace for the living.

Explication:
This is an original poem written in a haiku form, with a standard 5-7-5-syllable format. A haiku usually involves a theme of a season, so this poem describes the aftermath of a battle scene in the middle of winter. The pure white landscape is stained with the red of blood. However, with an end to the war, peace is restored, so the war is not in vain.
I tried to use some literary devices in the poem, though it is difficult to fit much in such a short poem. Alliteration of the sound “s” is used in the line “silent snow.” This is also a personification of snow. A haiku stresses on imagery, so the words selected are meant to appeal to the senses, such as “crimson” and “silent.”
This poem fits the theme of war as a calm and still snapshot of war.

Another Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

Another Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries
By Hugh MacDiarmid

It is a God-damned lie to say that these
Saved, or knew, anything worth a man's pride.
They were professional murderers and they took
Their blood money and impious risks and died.
In spite of all their kind some elements of worth
With difficulty persist here and there on earth.


This is an epitaph about mercenaries. The poem condemns the trade of a mercenary, as the author believes mercenaries lack all sense of decency and righteousness. The life stories of these “professional murderers” are only about money and death. However, at the end, the author does offer a sense of optimism, as there is still good in the world.
This poem is a fairly literal piece. It is a syllabic verse, with 10 syllables in each of the first two lines and 12 syllables in each of the last four lines. Line 2 and 4 rhyme, and last two lines rhyme. “Blood money” is a metaphoric description of the unrighteous way mercenaries earn a living. Lastly, the words that the author chose are very charged, such as “murderers” and “impious”, to highlight the malevolence of mercenaries.

The Concord Hymn

The Concord Hymn
Ralph Waldo Emerson
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;
Here once the embattled farmers stood;
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps,
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream that seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We place with joy a votive stone,
That memory may their deeds redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

O Thou who made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free, --
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raised to them and Thee.


Explication:
This poem is a hymn for the dedication of the Obelisk, a battle monument in Concord, Massachusetts that commemorated the Battle of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), the first battle of the American Revolution. In 1837, the hymn was sung to the tune "Old Hundredth" during Concord's 4th of July celebration. The poem tells the story of the farmers who had to take up arms to fight against the enemy in a battle that would change the world. A long time has passed since that battle (even the bridge is now gone), and the great enemy is now no more. To remember those brave soldiers, a monument is set. Lastly, a prayer is made in hopes that the monument will be forever preserved, so that it can preserve the memories of past deeds.
The hymn is written as quatrains in iambic tetrameter (8 syllables per line), and has rhymes on alternating lines. The poem has many literary devices throughout. Firstly, the whole poem is an allusion to the American Revolution, and the specific battle at Concord. Next, “rude bridge” is an example of personification. The use of alliteration is present, such as in lines 5 and 6 with the “s” sound in “silence slept” and “silent sleeps”. There is also use of assonance, such as line 11’s “deeds redeem” repetition of the “ee” sound. In line 8, the author switches the order of the words “seaward” and “creeps” to fit the rhyme scheme. Lastly, the 4th stanza has an apostrophe, as the author is calling out to an invisible entity that guided the soldiers to carry out such great and selfless deeds.