The Man He Killed

By Thomas Hardy

The Man He Killed

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!

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 You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown.

Biography

Thomas Hardy (June 2, 1840- January 11, 1928), the son of a

stonemason, was born in Dorset, England. He trained as an architect
and worked in London and Dorset for ten years. Hardy began his
writing career as a novelist, publishing Desperate Remedies in 1871,
and was soon successful enough to leave the field of architecture for
writing. His novels Tess of the D’Urbervilles, 1891, and Jude the
Obscure, 1895, which are considered literary classics today, received
negative reviews upon publication and Hardy was criticized for being
too pessimistic. He left fiction writing for poetry, and published eight
collections, including Poems of the Past and the Present, 1902, and
Satires of Circumstance, 1914.

Hardy’s poetry explores a fatalist outlook against the dark, rugged landscape of his native Dorset
and much of his poetry reads as a sardonic lament on the bleakness of the human condition,
however, he called himself a “meliorist,” i.e., one who believes that the world may be made
better by human effort. Though, fatalism, some aspects of human sorrow, loss, frustration, and
regret are seen in his poems. A traditionalist in technique, he nevertheless forged a highly
original style, combining rough-hewn rhythms and colloquial diction with an extraordinary
variety of meters and stanzaic forms. He wrote in poetic forms of lyrics, ballads, satire, dramatic
monologues, and dialogue, and epic.

War Poems: His war poems are related to either the Boer Wars (that was fought between the
British Empire and two Boer states of the South African Republic (Republic of Transvaal) and
the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa from 1899 to 1902 ) or

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World War I (1914-1918): “Drummer Hodge”, “In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’”, “The
Man He Killed”, “After the War”, “The Eye of Waterloo”.

The Man He Killed (written in 1902) Firs

Stanza:

Inn: small old hotel or pub usu. in the country

Wet: covered or soaked with water

Nipperkin: half pint cup

If we had met each other in another place, like a tavern

or inn, except the battlefield, we could have chatted
with each other over a few drinks or nipperkins as
buddies. (Irony of situation) (Juxtaposition)

Second Stanza:

Range: put in line

Infantry: soldiers who fight on foot

Stare: look for a long time with great attention, gaze

But we were on foot soldiers in line for the battle, standing in the opposite party of war, fighting
face to face with the enemy’s on foot soldiers.

I shot that soldier as he might shot me and I killed him right where he was standing (in his
country).

Third Stanza:

Foe: enemy

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I killed that soldier because he was my enemy (my foe: anaphora). The repetition of “because”
shows how doubtful and hesitated he is in finding a justifiable reason for killing that man.

Just due to that reason, of course, that he was my enemy and that’s completely clear I killed him.
(He is still trying to convince himself).

“Although” with an enjambment shows the speaker is going to speak about some contradictory
ideas as well.

Fourth Stanza:

’list: enlist : to join or make s.b. join the armed forces

Off-hand: not showing much interest in sb/sth

Out of work: jobless

Traps: belongings

Although, the man I killed may have similarities with me: perhaps he had been enlisted in the
army, like me, without any special interest in war but just because he had been jobless and had
sold all his belongings and his participation in war may have no other reason. (Alliteration in
‘was’ and ‘work’)

There are four hyphens (Caesura: strong

pause in a line of poetry) in this stanza to
reflect the speaker’s hesitation about his
thoughts.

Fifth Stanza:

Quaint: attractive in an unusual or

oldfashioned way

Curious: strange and unusual

Fellow: a way of referring to a man or boy

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Treat: behave in a particular way

Half-a-crown: British money equal to two shillings and sixpence

Well, how unusual and bizarre war is! (understatement) Because of war, you shoot at a person
whom you may behave in another way in case you meet him, for instance, in a bar and in that
case, you may even help him financially too by giving him some coins.
(Alliteration in ‘quaint’ and ‘curious’)

"The Man He Killed" is totally a critique on the senselessness and futility of war. Although the
speaker isn't depicted as cruel or unjust, his actions during the war are questioned by himself.
The speaker killed a man he would just as soon have a drink with. The speaker reflects on why
he "shot him dead," (9) and the only reason he gives is that the two were foes. War turns good,
innocent people against one another, forcing them to kill without purpose but in the name of
patriotism.

This anti-war poem, also examines the individual loss of self that soldiers may undergo in order
to serve their country. Instead of staying true to their personal values and ideas, soldiers must
blindly follow their officer's commands. The speaker here was willing to murder, not because he
wanted to, but because he was commanded to.

Speaker: a veteran, ex-soldier of war

Type of poem: narrative (Dramatic

monologue: an imagined speaker addresses
a silent listener)

Meter: Iambic (unstressed+ stressed

syllable)

Rhyme: ABAB

Theme: War, as it is futile and senseless,

makes soldiers, causing loss of one’s self,

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do immoral things (like murder) that are justifiable because they do it in the name of their
country.

Definition of Literary Terms

Caesura: strong pause in a line of poetry or verse

Irony: A figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the
words used. There are three types of Irony: 1. Verbal irony: what is said is the opposite of what
is meant, 2. Dramatic Irony: when the audience knows more than the character, 3. Irony of
Situation: what is said or happened is opposite from what is intended.

Juxtaposition: when two things are placed close together that have contrasting effects or images

Understatement: saying less than one means