Friday, May 21, 2010

The meaning of a poetry in simple words?

The Things That Make a Soldier Great ~ Edgar Albert Guest (1918)





The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,


To face the flaming cannon's mouth, nor ever question why,


Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,


The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,


The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:


'Tis these that make a soldier great. He's fighting for them all.








can someone summarize this stanza for me in simple English?! I know what it means, but I'm afraid my teacher will find flaws in my explanation. So I need someone's help. I wanted to say that, according to Edgar Guest, a soldier fights to keep some flowers flourishing always; to save his children from evil and keep them playing all the time. Would that be right?

The meaning of a poetry in simple words?
To me this poem by Guest means the soldier (no matter who or where) fights for "home."





This is represented by all those flowers = (which equal) his country; every city, town, homeplace and person. And of course the addition of 'where his children play' make that even more clear.





A soldier fights for his "home."


Luck on your school work.
Reply:Almost. To be more general, a soldier fights for the simple beautiful pleasures in life -- lilacs, tulips, children playing. This is making an argument that true bravery is not fighting for country (i.e., abtracts ideals like patriotism or honor) but for beauty and life. You can then say that Guest is implying that these things are the only things worth dying for.





At least that's my interpretation. Poetry offers itself up to different interpretations -- there is and never should be just one meaning of poetry.
Reply:People don't fight for big abstract ideas like freedom or nationalism. They fight, and are willing to die, for the small, ordinary, beautiful, familiar things in their lives.
Reply:Simply, Poetry is the motivation engine for all nations. soldiers, lovers, students to do what in the mind of the poet.
Reply:expression of fellings
Reply:What a trite and unrythmic poem. I hope your teacher didn't make you read this.


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