1. Victorian Literature Mrs. Roe
“The Man He Killed”
Thomas Hardy

2. Personal Reaction
I like the use of dialogue in the poem because it seems more personal.
The words are simple and make it easy to understand the poem – shot, treat, etc.
I also like how the poem connects to something that could actually happen: the man is killed during war, but might be his friend in another situation.

3. Summary
A soldier in the poem has killed an enemy during a battle. The soldier realizes that if the two had met under different circumstances they might have been friends. He imagines that they may have been co-workers. The soldier also wonders what the point of war really is.

4. Figure of Speech: irony
Verbal irony is found in the poem in the line: “Yes, quaint and curious war is!”
The word quaint implies that something is subtle and kind, yet the poem is about war which is cruel and evil.
The soldier in the poem wants the world to be quaint and kind, but people won’t allow that to happen.

5. Victorian Aspects
The poem reflects the idea of war from the Victorian era through the soldier’s experience.
The poem reflects the need for simplicity during this era through its simple words.
The poem connects to the time period by referencing the soldier’s social status as being low.

6. Annotated Bibliography
This site had images from the Victorian period.
This site has a copy of the poem to read.
This site provided a summary of the poem and someone’s opinion of what the poem means.