‘The Deserter’Winifred M.Letts

The Deserter

There was a man, - don't mind his name,Whom fear has dogged by night and day.He could not face the German gunsAnd so he turned and ran away.Just that-he turned and ran away,But who can judge him, you or I?God makes a man of flesh and bloodWho yearns to live and not to die.And this man when he feared to die.Was scared as any frightened child,His knees were shaking under him,His breath came fast, his eyes were wild.I've seen a hare with eyes as wild,With throbbing heart and sobbing breath.But oh! it shames one's soul to seeA man in abject fear of death.

But fear had gripped him, so had death;His number had gone up that day,They might not heed his frightened eyes,They shot him when the dawn was greyBlindfolded, when the dawn was grey,He stood there in a place apart,The shots rang out and down he fell,An English bullet in his heart.An English bullet in his heart!But here's the irony of life,-His mother thinks he fought and fellA hero, foremost in the strife.So she goes proudly; to the strifeHer best, her hero son she gave.O well for her she does not knowHe lies in a deserter's grave.

Winifred M. Letts (1887-1972)

CONTENT AND THEME

1. Why do you think the poet does not name the soldier?

2. Why did he run and why was this a natural reaction?

3. What punishment was he given?

4. What is the irony at the end of this poem?

Ironyusing language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

IMAGERY

Do you think the imagery in this poem leads you to sympathise with the deserter?

Look at:

• the personification of fear (2&17)

• the comparison to a frightened child.

• the comparison of the man to a hare

• the use of the term ‘a place apart’

LANGUAGE

Letts chooses her words carefully to put the reader on the side of the deserter. How do the following words and phrases add to your sympathy for the man?

• ‘just that’

• The rhetorical question- ‘But who can judge him, or I?’

• ‘yearns’

• ‘wild’

• The internal rhymes ‘throbbing’ and ‘sobbing’

STRUCTURE

• The poem begins ‘There was a man,-’ In what ways is the poem structured like a story or fable?

• The rhyme scheme of the poem is interesting in that it repeats the same word at the end of some lines, for example:

“And so he turned and ran away. Just that - he turned and ran away,”

What is the effect of the repetitions and how do they help to structure the poem?

• How does Letts use rhyme to round the poem of dramatically?

PERSONAL RESPONSE

• Winifred Letts feels a sense of outrage and injustice at the treatment of the deserter. What are the main ways in which she communicates these feelings?

• Why do you think the army lied to the families of the deserters about the way in which they died? Do you think this was right or wrong?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article607608.ece