Thomas Hardy's "The man he killed"

Introduction

Thomas Hardy's poem 'The Man He Killed' focuses on the senselessness and futility of war, where a man has killed another quite simply because they were fighting on opposing sides in a war. Written in the first person from the standpoint of one of the soldiers, the first stanza expresses the idea that the two men who fought would, had they in other circumstances met each other outside a pub, have enjoyed a few drinks together.

Discussion

Thomas Hardy's poem 'The Man He Killed' focuses on the senselessness and futility of war, where a man has killed another quite simply because they were fighting on opposing sides in a war. Thus, the social, economic, and beliefs of the period contributed to the flourishing of literary works. Thomas Hardy was a man that lived in this, and he created works of art that not only moved the hearts of yesterday, but of today.

Reforms were a vast part of the Victorian age. Voting came slowly but surely, in 1832, any man could vote if his property was worth £10 or more, 1867 any man could vote if he worked, 1918 women could vote if they were 30 or older, and finally in 1928 any woman could vote if they were 21 or older. The states also supported education of children so with that, they cut back child labor laws to 10 hours a day and a half day on Sundays. In 1880, every child required to go to school, and that in 1891 every public school was free.

"The Age of Prudery" was a name given to the Victorian age for its stiff outlook on sex, birth and death. Publishers of books, magazine, and paper articles would edit works, so it would not cause a "blush to the cheek". Sex, birth, and death were transformed into tender courtships, joyous welcomes to motherhood, and deathbed scenes. Babies portrayed as angels and seniors depicted as saints. Distributing information about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD's) was also against the law and in result often ended in the arrest. Women were frowned upon if they had physical relationships with men, adulterer women prosecuted, but the double standard let the men go free.

The economic and social conditions of the Victorian age were as hard as they ever would be. A potato famine reigned across the lands killing 1 million people and forcing 2 million to immigrate to the slums of other countries. Cities grew rapidly leading to commercial and industrial cities with 40% of the streets unpaved. Rivers were polluted, and bodies buried in layers in over eight feet deep.

Technology thrived from religion and omnipotence to answer all questions to science and irrefutable evidence. Industrialization depended upon engineering, science, technology, and chemistry (887). As the manufacturing society grew so did, the amounts of meat, margarine, and fruit, which lead to a healthier diet for the people. Geologists began to study rocks and fossils and began to create different theories about the earth from what the ...