Soliloquy - Francis Ledwidge

Form:

Steady, regular rhythm matched with a regular rhyme scheme - almost mirrors the rhythm of marching, as though Ledwidge is marching to his fate.

Irregular stanza length.Language:

“I grew weary doing well” – link to ideas of Edwardian lifestyle and how people became jaded by the monotonies of life before the war. Could be irony? They would not be saying that if they knew of what they would encounter at war.

“Helpless child” – helpless here represents the vulnerability of the men who went off to war. Child suggests the innocence of the men. Idea of loss of incorruptibility of the men.

“Loud with war” – the war was a force which was able to corrupt all. War overwhelms everything and domineers the lives of millions.

“Too late… to retrieve a fallen dream” – the dreams of the men have been cut short and this suggests the abrupt and inconsequential nature of human life.

“Too late… to grieve a name unmade” – he will become no one and will make no name for himself because of the war. Also references to the nameless, faceless nature of those who died and how they became “millions of mouthless dead”

“Greater than a poet’s fame” – sarcasm

Structure:

Regular enjambment – suggests the inner workings of his mind and the continuous trail of his thoughts. Almost as though he can only say what he really feels in poetry. This hints at the idea of censorship and the fact that the men perhaps felt trapped and unable to confide in anyone about the horrors they had seen.

Lack of caesura – reinforces point above about being one continuous trail of thought.

Tone:

The tone is that of regret (too late), sarcasm (greater than a poet’s fame) and bitterness (fallen dream, name unmade)

Reader response:

The reader initially feels the lethargy felt by the soldier – “weary” – and, much like the soldier begins to feel that he would have done well to stay at home. Sympathy – as the poem is a soliloquy we are able to empathise with the poet and understand his feelings.

Links :

Idea of being awakened from the lethargy of Edwardian life – Peace by Rupert Brooke