The Analysis of “The Man He Killed” And “The Choir master’s Burial” By Thomas Hardy

I.                   Introduction

Poetry is one of literary works which may be classified as the shortest one. However, the length does not then make poetry become poor in beauty and meaning. The diction used is usually full of symbolization and construct melodious rhyme. Nevertheless, this symbolization creates a challenge in understanding or interpreting the message being delivered. Furthermore, poetry is challenging because it only provides little clue to its meaning; unlike novel.

In interpreting a poem, there are two common ways being used. The first one is go directly to the poem itself. In other words, the analysis is just based on the line and rhyme without considering any external factor. The second one is the opposite. This method of interpreting requires the external look into the poet life. In this case, the analysis tends to link between the lines within the poem with the background of the poet.

Some argue that the first method is the best one as it guarantees that the analysis will be independent and more semantically contextual. Besides, this method prevents the analysis from being bias. In contrast, some claim that the second way is better because it opens the possibility to have deeper interpretation as we may understand why the poet reacts in such a way in expressing his/her message.

The aim of this paper is to analyze poetry based on the literal content. In addition, this paper also tries to investigate the style a poet often uses. In doing so, two poems within similar themes from the same poet are analyzed. In this case, the poems belong to Thomas Hardy.

II.                Discussions 

A.    The Analysis of “The Man He Killed”

The Man He Killed

Had he and I but met
    By some old ancient inn,
We should have set 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!
    You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat, if met where any bar is,
    Or help to half a crown.

The theme of this poem is about war. Hardy tries to reveal the condition of war and what people perceive. In this case, Hardy uses the unknown narrator of “I” to tell about what he thinks and wants in the opposite of what he must do. In this poem, the narrator is confronted with his foe or enemy, identified as “he”. The first stanza clearly describes what the narrator  truly has in mind which is the opposite of the reality that he is facing. Grammatically, this stanza uses unreal conditional, so what is stated is the opposite of what is happening. The detail interpretation is as follow.

Had he and I but met
    By some old ancient inn,

These lines open the relationship that “I”, as the narrator,  and “he” have. In this case, we find that “I’ wish that they could meet in a different place. In this case the place “I” imagines is sort of warm and relaxing place. This impression can be found on the phrase “old ancient inn”. We can feel the atmosphere of quiet, peaceful, and warm at any place considered as “old” and “ancient”. In addition, the next two lines explain what the narrator wants to do if the condition were possible.

We should have set us down to wet
    Right many a nipperkin!

“I” imagines that they can sit down together and have a drink (nipperkin = 1/8 pint). In other words, the narrator wishes that they could be friend. Nevertheless, as they are facing war, this is not possible to happen. Conversely, a tragic thing must happen; the narrator must kill the man (“he”).  Hardy provides a setting in which the narrator and “he” are facing each other along with the range of infantry (walking soldier). Both “I” and “he” are the members of confronted infantry. So, they do not have any choice except shooting each other. Thus, the narrator implies that if he didn’t shoot the man (“he), “he” would shoot him first.

The third stanza reveals what the narrator feels after killing “he”. Even, the first line describes the doubt the narrator feels of finding out the reason of killing. The long pause indicates this doubtfulness.

    I shot him dead because—

The next lines explain that the narrator does not have any other reason, except that “he” is his foe. In other words, “I” does not have any personal reason of killing, it is just the matter of obligation.

The forth stanza describes how the narrator compares himself with the foe; the reality that they have no job and are facing financial problems, so that they enlist themselves into militarily.

    He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
    Off-hand like—just as I—
Was out of work—had sold his traps—
    No other reason why.

Again, the last line of this stanza emphasizes that both characters are ruled by the condition. War never brings any benefit to people. It causes people to live in suffer and make people have no choice but to get involved, if they are commanded to.

In the last stanza, Hardy arrives to his conclusion towards war. The narrator exclaims that war is extremely strange “quaint and curious”.

Yes; quaint and curious war is!
    You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat, if met where any bar is,
    Or help to half a crown

The second line of the fifth stanza illuminates the strange which Hardy means. In a war, even when the enemy is our friend, we have to kill him because of the order or simply obligation from the state. In this regards, Hardy is trying to say that, war requires people to ignore their personal feeling for the sake of the state.

However, the third line gives contrasted addition of why war is extremely strange. This line means, if are given different situation, people may treat a drink if they are friends. Moreover, the last line describes how friends may express their solidarity. “half a crown” means that if they win something or get valuable things, they are willing to share with their friends.

B.     The Analysis of “The Choir Master’s Burial”

Thomas Hardy : The Choirmaster’s Burial

He often would ask us That, when he died, After playing so many To their last rest, If out of us any Should here abide, And it would not task us, We would with our lutes Play over him By his grave-brim The psalm he liked best— The one whose sense suits “Mount Ephraim”— And perhaps we should seem To him, in Death’s dream, Like the seraphim1. As soon as I knew That his spirit was gone I thought this his due, And spoke, thereupon. “I think,” said the vicar, “A read service quicker Than viols out-of-doors In these frosts and hoars. That old-fashioned way Requires a fine day, And it seems to me It had better not be.” Hence, that afternoon, Though never knew he That his wish could not be, To get through it faster They buried the master Without any tune. But ’twas said that, when At the dead of next night The vicar looked out, There struck on his ken Thronged roundabout, Where the frost was graying The headstoned grass, A band all in white Like the saints in church-glass, Singing and playing The ancient stave By the choirmaster’s grave. Such the tenor man told When he had grown old.

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

In this poem, Thomas Hardy has successfully blended the sense of such a deep dignity to God and political issue in religion. The very first stanza of this poem tells about the last wish of a choirmaster to his choir members.

He often would ask us

That, when he died,

After playing so many

To their last rest,

If out of us any

Should here abide,

And it would not task us,

We would with our lutes

Play over him

By his grave-brim

The psalm he liked best—

The one whose sense suits

“Mount Ephraim”—

It is clear that this stanza tells that the choirmaster has dedicated his life through his “many” plays, accompanying people’s burials. And when his own death is coming, he wants the melody to be with him in his burial. The play is not merely about his love towards arts but more importantly, it is to him, the way he loves and prostrates God. The strong signal for this may be found on “Mount Ephraim” as his favorite one, which is taken from “The psalm”. Thus, if the choir members grant his last wish, they will look like angles ;“seraphim” and his “dream”. This simile emphasizes how happy he will be if the wish is granted, it even changes the humanlike into angel’s like. In addition, it is true indeed that the choir members will grant the wish.

And it would not task us,

We would with our lutes

Play over him

The phrase “not task” defines the sincerity and also indicates the good relationship between the “choirmaster” and the “us” as the choir member. In this regards, “us” fully respects the “choirmaster”.

Suddenly, in the second stanza, the character “I” emerges. Here we may identify “I” as the member of the choir, syntactically as the unit of “us”, who keeps the last wish in mind. On this phase, the strong emotional conflict emerges. “The vicar” appears to be the new character with significantly strong power to determine what to do. “I” witness that “the vicar” knows about the last wish but then he decides it in a different way.

“I think,” said the vicar,

“A read service quicker

Than viols out-of-doors

In these frosts and hoars.

That old-fashioned way

Requires a fine day,

And it seems to me

It had better not be.”

               In this case, “the vicar” uses his power and position to break everyone’s wish to grant the last wish. 

This power is so strong that no one dares to complain, that “they” buried the master with no tune, and “I” 

along with “us” just could watch, hopelessly. “The vicar” neglects the fact that “the choirmaster” has given

 a lot of contributions during his life to the church and simplifies the link of this fact to God. From the external

 context, we may notice that during Victorian era, crutch has great power in ruling. What “I” hear and see 

represent what the whole choir members and everyone who knows “the choirmaster” and his wish keep 

in their hearth. However, they cannot do anything, they have to obey the rule uttered by “the vicar”

 There struck on his ken

               This line of the next stanza stresses how shock “the vicar” becomes when “a band in all white”

 “playing and singing” by the grave. I think, Thomas Hardy shows God interference in this stanza. 

This interference is not only in a mystique form, but more importantly, this interference has a mission.

 God wants to admonish “the vicar” that he shouldn’t do that as a person who has labeled himself as the 

slave of God. On the other side, in this poem Hardy shows that, even though the “choirmaster” has physically 

died, his spirit remains live and reaches the God. 

C.     The style Hardy uses in the two poems

In the two poems, Hardy has brilliantly delivered his idealism towards certain situations that he disagrees about. In “The Man He Killed”, Hardy proclaims how bad he hates war as war may not only take someone’s life but also kill someone’s heart. In “The Choirmaster’s Burial”, Hardy criticizes the church’s rule in Victorian era; the fact that in that era, democracy did not exist and church has dominant power to rule people.

In accordance with how Hardy delivers the messages, it can be noticed that in both poems, Hardy uses the point of view of a narrator. So, Hardy speaks from the narrator’s thinking. In this case, he dominantly uses short lines which are straight forward to the point. This lining gives stronger impression to the emotional conflict the narrator feels.

In terms of beauty, Hardy is also brilliant. He knows well how to play with rhyme. We can notice that in both poems, Hardy considers harmonization of the last sound. Hardy rhymes maybe categorized as one of the natures of classical literary works.

The last but not the least, the style which belongs to Hardy is dealing with punctuation. The punctuation he uses in the two poems are comma (,), point (.), and long dash ( __ ).  These punctuations are not only for beauty but more importantly, they contain pragmatic values. In this case,  a comma may mean that the speaker still have more to say. For instance:

Hence, that afternoon,

Though never knew he

That his wish could not be,

To get through it faster

On the other hand, a point may indicate no more negotiation, such as:

And it seems to me

It had better not be.”

               Meanwhile, a dash may indicate that the speaker is thinking about what to say further.

I shot him dead because—
    Because he was my foe,

III.             Conclusion

Interpreting poetry is never easy. There are many factors need to be considered. To grab the idea of a poem requires us to read it repeatedly. By doing so, we will get the general idea which may bring us to the more detail message. In this case, semantic plays important role in determining the referents of the dictions being used.

Having analyzed the work from Thomas Hardy, we can conclude that through his work, he expresses his idealism in such beautiful ways. In this case, we may perceive an alternative use of poetry; that poetry is not only dealing with love but also works well with critics to the society.

To sum up, we may notice that Hardy’s style covers complete elements of literary works. He uses dictions, lines, rhymes, even punctuation for the sake of beauty. Moreover, he uses all of these as his strength to insert emotion within his poems.