The War

By Alfred Lord Tennyson

There is a sound of thunder afar,
Storm in the South that darkens the day,
Storm of battle and thunder of war,
Well, if it do not roll our way
Form! Form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!

Be not deaf to the sound that warns!
Be not gull'd by a despot's plea!
Are figs of thistles, or grapes of thorns?
How should a despot set men free?
Form! Form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!

Let your Reforms for a moment go,
Look to your butts and make good aims.
Better a rotten borough or so,
Than a rotten fleet or a city of flames!
Form! Form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!

Form, be ready to do or die!
Form in freedom's name and the Queen's!
True, that we have a faithful ally,
But only the devil knows what he means.
Form! Form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!

"The War by Alfred Lord Tennyson." - Famous Poems, Famous Poets. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. <http://allpoetry.com/The-War>.

This poem caught my attention for several reasons. The first, I find the rhythm of the chorus very pleasing, and effective, as I perceive it to increase in speed by the end of the chorus. I like the double alliteration in the second line ("Storm" and "South" and "darkens" and "day"). I also like Tennyson's comment about despots in the second stanza and was struck by the cleverness of his metaphor. I also like his commentary on the nature of warfare in the last stanza ("True, that we have a faithful ally, But only the devil knows what he means."). I find it interesting that this work (which I think is excellent) is often forgotten and overshadowed by his most well known masterpiece "The Charge of the Light Brigade," even though I think this is a much more powerful political commentary and is much quicker to his point about the foolish nature of war.

The WarThere is a sound of thunder afar,
Storm in the south that darkens the day,
Storm of battle and thunder of war,
Well, if it do not roll our way.
Form! form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form! - See more at: http://allpoetry.com/The-War#sthash.c7CTxHRX.dpuf

The War

There is a sound of thunder afar,
Storm in the south that darkens the day,
Storm of battle and thunder of war,
Well, if it do not roll our way.
Form! form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!

Be not deaf to the sound that warns!
Be not gull'd by a despot's plea!
Are figs of thistles or grapes of thorns?
How should a despot set men free?
Form! form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!

Let your Reforms for a moment go,
Look to your butts and make good aims.
Better a rotten borough or so,
Than a rotten fleet or a city of flames!
Form! form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!

Form, be ready to do or die!
Form in freedom's name and the Queen's!
True, that we have a faithful ally,
But only the devil knows what he means!
Form! form! Riflemen form!
Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
Riflemen, riflemen, riflemen form!

2014 AP Lit 3rd hour

Thursday, September 11, 2014

The War - Drew Sorenson Assignment 1

The War

The War

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The War

The War

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