There was a man, - don't mind his name,
Whom Fear had dogged by night and day.
He could not face the German guns
And so he turned and ran away.
Just that - he turned and ran away,
But who can judge him, you or I ?
God makes a man of flesh and blood
Who yearns to live and not to die.
And this man when he feared to die
Was scared as any frightened child,
His knees were shaking under him,
His breath came fast, his eyes were wild.
I've seen a hare with eyes as wild,
With throbbing heart and sobbing breath.
But oh ! it shames one's soul to see
A man in abject fear of death,
But fear had gripped him, so had death;
His number had gone up that day,
They might not heed his frightened eyes,
They shot him when the dawn was grey.
Blindfolded, when the dawn was grey,
He stood there in a place apart,
The shots rang out and down he fell,
An English bullet in his heart.
An English bullet in his heart !
But here's the irony of life, -
His mother thinks he fought and fell
A hero, foremost in the strife.
So she goes proudly; to the strife
Her best, her hero son she gave.
O well for her she does not know
He lies in a deserter's grave.
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The Deserter is a poem about a man who was sent to war but realised he was scared of the German guns. So he tried to run away but he was found and shot by the English army to show other people who were thinking of running away that you should stand up and fight for your country.
ReplyDeleteIts written in the 3rd person and has different view points: the person writing about the man and, at the end, the view of the mother of the guy this poem is written about.
Letts uses a wide range of vocabulary and also uses enjambement a few times. He has also used techniques such as rhetorical questions and similes.
Rachel :)
We think that Letts uses rhetorical questions and similes to intensify the poem and allow the reader to interpret it in their own way.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the whole poem there is a very negative, sombre mood. The poet uses words and phrases such as "his knees were shaking underneath him", "his breath came fast and his eyes were wild", "... but fear had gripped him", "frightened eyes", all of which make the reader feel as if the man is scared, frightened, worried and guilty.
The rhyming pattern is difficult to follow, but the poet uses a lot of repetition, for example;- "An English bullet ran in his heart. An English bullet ran in his heart!", which yet again intensifies the poem.
Toriee, EVELYN, Rachel and SIAN
Winifred Mary Letts (1882 - 1972) was an English writer, with strong Irish connections, known for her novels, plays and poetry.
ReplyDeletehttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y7wQjK_RhzQ/SUZZv3iSclI/AAAAAAAACNc/9a7a0e_ia0c/s320/letts.jpg