Poetry Revision
“The Drum” and “O What is that
Sound”
“The Drum” by John Scott
Explore how Scott uses structure and language
to convey his attitudes towards war and conflict.
PEA paragraphs
POINT:
EVIDENCE:
ANALYSIS:
Voice
• ‘I hate’ – first person, strong emotion – sets
tone for poem, personal perspective / opinion
• Quaker – pacifists (wrong to go to war)
Imagery
• ‘their liberty (freedom) for charms / of tawdry
lace, and glittering arms’ (uniforms and
weapons) ‘charms’ – almost worthless, cheap
jewellery / for luck – appearance vs reality of
war
Language features
• ‘drum’s discordant sound / Parading round and
round and round’ – alliteration ‘discordant’ –
negative term stands out. Repetition – reflects
rhythm of drum. Unceasing / never stops.
• ‘lures’ – tricking / deceiving / persuading them.
Dishonest, also predatory
• Ambition’s voice – abstract noun- always going to
be a force of ‘ambition’ to send young men to
war
• Inevitability: ‘when ambition…’
Rhyme and Rhythm
• Rhyming couplets
John Scott uses rhyming couplets in ‘The Drum’
for emphasis. The end-line rhymes create a beat
like the sound of ‘The
• Each line has the same number of beats
EXCEPT the last line in each stanza.
Rhyme and Rhythm
• Rhyming couplets
John Scott uses rhyming couplets in ‘The Drum’ for emphasis.
The end-line rhymes create a beat like the sound of ‘The
Drum’ or the marching soldiers the ‘thoughtless youth’ will
become by the end of the stanza. The beat could also
represent the obedience of soldiers as part of a homogenous
group or the strict regime that is part of army life.
• Each line has the same number of beats EXCEPT the last
line in each stanza.
The extra beat in the last line of the stanza emphasises the
true nature of war according to the poet. At the end of stanza
one this emphasis lands on ‘fall’ due to the alliteration used.
Form and Structure
• First verse highlights naivety of youth, second
verse highlights consequences of this
• Second verse reveals reality of war
• ‘and’ repetition builds up momentum until
last line – build tension and expectation up to
last line – negative / depressing
2nd Stanza
• ‘mangled limbs’ etc – graphic images of
suffering
• ‘Misery’s hand’ – metaphorical /
personification – giving an abstract noun
agency – soldiers are not in control – the
young men are not making their own choices
“O What is that Sound” by W.H. Auden
There is more than one possible interpretation of
this poem… What do you think the poem is about?
First voice could be man or woman betrayed by
husband or wife by the end because of
cowardliness / soldiers coming to conscript / enemy
approaching etc
Ambiguity suggests / reinforces / accentuates
uncertainty and confusion of first speaker and
possible dishonesty of the second speaker
How could this poem be compared to
“The Drum”?
Similarities
Differences
Voice
First Voice
• Questions – uncertainty, worry, dependency
• Repetition – of questions, emphasises their emotions, of
end word – voice could have asked before, again
emphasises concern, also provides rhythm (soldiers
marching) builds up sense of tension – is the voice
becoming more fraught / worried?
Second Voice
• Short answers – lack of care / attention, callous, detached,
apathy
• ‘dear’ – patronising / sarcastic but does show a relationship
exists – loved one, could be genuine at the beginning.
Repetition – loses sentiment, becomes empty, which could
reflect relationship / trust / second’s speaker’s intentions
Imagery / Language
• ‘scarlet soldiers’ – alliteration emphasise soldiers might
be bloodthirsty, mystery surrounding soldiers. ‘Scarlet’
– red suggests danger, warnings, pain, anger
• Tension builds as Soldiers come closer… - soldiers
slowly advance from ‘down in the valley’ to having
‘passed the farmyard’
• ‘Why are you kneeling?’ – prayer. Question implies
some confusion or misunderstanding from second
speaker
• ‘their eyes are burning’ – threatening, dangerous,
aggressive, inhuman?
Rhyme and Rhythm
• Repetition of first voice builds tension and
emphasises rhythm – soldiers marching
• Starts off with regular rhyme scheme but
stanza 4 onwards moves into half rhymes only
– weakening of loyalty of second voice?
• Rhythm all the way through is constant
representing the onwards march and
inevitable arrival of the soldiers
Form and Structure
• The first voice is deceived by the second by
the end of the poem.
• Regular structure builds tension right up to
the end.
• We don’t know what happens once the
soldiers arrive- more haunting?