Poetry Analysis
Title: Untitled Poem
Poet: George Henry Boker
Category: Civil War battle
FIRST READING:
Vocabulary: List words you don’t know, and then define each (context clues or a dictionary).
Prattle—speak rapidly and incessantly
Jests—jokes
Agap—mouth hanging open
Draggled—limp and soiled if dragged in the mud
Fray—affray means a noisy fight
Quail—draw back, as with fear or pain
Summary: Write a summary of the events in the poem.
The poem states that the newspapers are always reporting about the war and the deaths/injuries, that
people are always talking about the war, that children always talk about the war as if talking about it made
them appreciate being alive. The poem then points out that Love is winning, but that it is a playmate with
Death.
Personal Reaction: What are your personal reactions to this poem?
I found the poem to be very graphic with the numerous references to the horrors of war and emphasis on
the fact that war is the only thing anyone talks about. This poem does not glorify war or battle. I also
noticed a shift, though, between lines 8 and 9. It seems to take a pessimistic view of the Civil War.
I thought it was interesting that poem does not take sides: it does not urge the North to fight to save the
country nor to free the slaves; on the other hand, it does not rally the South to preserve their way of life.
POETIC DEVICES:
Figurative language: Identify at least 2 examples of figurative language (simile or metaphor) or imagery in
this poem. How does each example help you to better understand the poem and its message?
Imagery:
“dark arteries reek with running gore”—sight and smell
“prattle of horrors,” “cannon’s roar,” “jingling cap”—sounds
Metaphors:
“Blood, blood! The lines of every printed sheet/Through their dark arteries reek with running gore”
--newspapers are so full of stories about war it is as if the newspapers are bodies full of gore
“I quail at the familiar way/This fool, the world, disports his jingling cap;/Murdering or dying with
one grin agap” –compares the world to a court jester. Means that the world or the United States
doesn’t seem to be taking the Civil War or the fact that it was family versus family seriously.
“Our very Love comes draggled from the fray,/Smiling at victory, scowling at mishap,/With gory
Death companioned and at play.”—personifies Love and Death as companions or playmates.
This metaphor shows that Love—our family and friendships—has been damaged by the war, but
Love is prevailing. Also points out that we can’t have love without Death.
The first imagery and first metaphor add to the speaker’s emphasis on the pervasiveness of the war and
the horrors of war. The image of a picking up the newspaper to read the latest and have it dripping with
blood and gore is graphic and gross.
Also notice that the rhyme scheme changes between lines 8 and 9, which is when the speaker changes
from describing the horrors and everyone talking about the war to describing his concerns that the world
isn’t treating the Civil War seriously.
Speaker: From what point of view is this poem written? Why do you think the poet choose this
speaker/point of view?
1st person point of view. The speaker is someone at home reporting how the war and battles are dealt
with on the homefront. The speaker is not a soldier.
I think that the poet, George Henry Boker, must not have been a soldier, so he could only describe what
he saw at home.
Theme: What is the theme (American Dream/American Nightmare, Conformity versus Rebellion,
Freedom, Frontier, Individuality, Initiation/Rite of Passage, Journey, Moral Struggle, Past versus Present,
Search for Identity) or message of the poem? Include at least 2 details/quotes from the poem to support
your theme/message.
American dream/American nightmare—While the reader expects a poem from the Civil War to encourage
one side to follow its American dream to win its battle, the speaker of the poem actually show the
nightmare side of war with the graphic descriptions, such as “reek with running gore,” and with the reality
that the world doesn’t seem to think the U.S. Civil War is a serious war, “This fool, the world, disports his
jingling cap;/Murdering or dying with one grin agap!”
THINKING ABOUT HISTORY:
Connections: Connect the poem’s events to those in the Civil War.
Describing how everyone always discusses the war emphasizes the fact that the Civil War was fought by
only Americans and that it included family members against one another. The events in the poem show
that everyone was impacted by the Civil War.
Audience: For what audience was this poem written? What clues do you find to support this?
I think this poem was written with politicians as the audience. The speaker wants the readers to think
about children discussing war and that the world doesn’t seem to take the war seriously. I think the
speaker wants the politicians to reevaluate the need for war and to look for a less bloody way to end it.
Poet: Why do you think the poet wrote this poem? What clues do you find to support this?
Again, I think the speaker wants the politicians to reevaluate the need for war and to look for a less
bloody way to end it.
Time Period: What does this poem tell you about life during this period in history?
This poem tells me that not everyone in the 1860’s felt strongly about the issues surrounding the Civil
War. The poem shows that some people were negatively affected by the war without suffering a personal
or family injury.
Effectiveness: Evaluate the effectiveness of the poem in communicating its theme/message? Support
your answer.
I think the poem effectively raises some questions about war in general and its impact on people at home.
I also think that it does effectively point out the horrors.
However, I think that in trying to be a stereotypical poem the effectiveness is lessened by the need to
create a rhyme scheme. Having a pattern takes away the jarring effects that could have been created
through the use of free verse. Also the two different parts of the poem, separated between lines 8 and 9,
makes the poem feel like two different poems; it seems that Boker could have written one poem about the
horrors and the nonstop discussion and a second poem about the lack of seriousness and have made the
second poem a stronger political statement.
Questions: What question(s) is left unanswered by the poem? For each question that you have,
brainstorm where you might find the answer.
Was Boker a politician? How was Boker personally involved with the Civil War?—Internet search engine,
encyclopedia
Was Boker’s message a popular one? Were other people less concerned with the slavery/North versus
South issues and more concerned with the general effects of war?—textbook focused on Civil War