eleanor and jenny

joining the colours and the target comparison

Joining the colours is written in third person where as the target is written in first. This makes the target feel more personal but joining the colours gives a more overall look at the war.
Both poems seem to tell a story if you put them together. joining the colours is about how the soldiers who are soon to be fighting are 'smooth cheeked' as if to say they healthy and ready for what they don't think wont be as horrific as it turns out. The target show the truth about war so you can see what the soldier experiences when he's there, and how he tries to justify it in his mind.
Both poems were probably written around the same time if you look at the birth dates of the writers. this could mean that any similarities in what has been written are true.
The target has rhyming couplets but joining the colours has a ABAB rhyming scheme. A s a result the target flows differenty so each line links to the last so the poem gradually builds a picture in your mind making each line more memorable. The rhyming scheme for joining the colours has a harsher impact because the lines seem to stop dead as you read them which is quite effective.