I shot him, and it had to be
One of us "Twas him or me.
'Couln't be helped' and none can blame
Me, for you would do the same
My mother, she cant sleep for fear
Of what might be a-happening here
To me. Perhaps it might be best
To die, and set her fears at rest
For worst is worst, and worry's done.
Perhaps he was the only son. . .
Yet God keeps still, and does not say
A word of guidance anyway.
Well, if they get me, first I'll find
That boy, and tell him all my mind,
And see who felt the bullet worst,
And ask his pardon,if I durst.
All's a tangle. Here's my job.
A man might rave, or shout, or sob;
And God He takes takes no sort of heed.
This is a bloody mess indeed.
Notes
This should be compared with Thomas Hardy's earlier poem on a similar theme.
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/show/2959-Thomas-Hardy-The-Man-He-Killed
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
1 - 16 of 16
-
We do at time what we think best
But was it right time be the test
For conflict always will world see
like that below, inside of me
Eddy -
To me this poem highlights the pointless side of wars, any wars. The enemy is only an enemy because some politician said so. There is no personal enmity between the individual opponents. The mental anguish suffered by Gurney was suffered by a great many others and its effects differed ,depending on the mental strength of each person.
-
"A man might rave, or shout, or sob;"
Gurney's words reflect the mental anguish which was to cause him to spend the last years of his life in an institution. A brilliant scholar and musician in early life was never the same again after the war. -
Gurney was, like millions of others, a soldier during the 1914-18 War and in 1917, when this was written he was injured by rifle fire and later suffered in a gas attack.
This poem tells of his mixed feelings. Not wanting to kill but knowing
"Twas him or me"
he does what he has to do and then prays for guidance but
"Yet God keeps still, and does not say ".
As in later life he suffers deep depression and contemplates death at his own hands
"Perhaps it might be best
To die, and set her fears at rest "
His final line is a stark contrast to the happy carefree message on the lips of many soldiers early in the war who, like Jesse Pope, rgarded the war as a game which would soon be over. By 1917 the reality had set in and he knows
"This is a bloody mess indeed"
-
The Target
From guest SarahhSmith (contact)
This is an amazing poem, and so are many others, amazing to think he lived a few miles from me! This is helping with my history project, thankyou Ivor! x3
MOD MESSAGE
You're welcome -
-
-
Charles Roe: Please read all the comments below, they will give you a better understanding of the meaning of this poem. Regards, Von~Oldpoetry
-
-
the target
From guest kaizer cheif (contact)
The poem is...Good i suppose.Disabled by Wilfred Owen is recommended -
The Target
From guest Emily (contact)
This is a fantastic poem written well and an enjoyable read. Although it dosn't specifically mention war, the general theme represents it. It is my favourite poem. -
the target
From guest Katie-Ann Every (contact)
i really love the imagery this poem creates, it is brilliant. It really gives an insight into the poets feelings towards WW1. Thanks Mr. Gurney! got me through my GCSE! x -
The Target
From guest Molly and Amy (contact)
We chose to study this poem in English and we have to give a lesson to the rest of the class about it. We really like this poem. The confusion of the poet really hit us, the way he suffers from a rollercoaster ride of emotion. We'd also like to thank the other people who have posted comments and who have given a new perspective on the poem. -
The Target
From guest Tom (contact)
This poem is extremly good, inparticualr i liked how he feels that he is facing a living death because although he survived he has to live with his actions. -
From guest Don Fernando (contact)
The upbeat iambic tetrameter and jaunty rhythm of this poem sit uneasily with it's serious subject matter. This reflects the feelings of the poet along with his confusion. This poem reminds me of another by Ivor Gurney - "The Bohemians" which is also well constructed -
poetry vs songs
His songs are far better than his poetry. It's notable that of his many songs only one was a setting of one of his own poems — at least so far as I can ascertain -
-
From guest Josh (contact)
The poet voice, confused, sometimes angry othertimes grieving, mirrors brilliantly the chaos of the war itself.
The end stopped ending summarises the feelings of millions on WW1 and war in general. Fantastic. -
War is made by leaders.
But it's the followers who have to kill or be killed.
War is often justified by calling on God -- but does he really want one side or the other to win, at the cost of many lives?
-
An interesting insightful poem
after having to write a short essay on it for English I recommend this poem to Y9 students wishing to get ahead for their GSCEs. Even if you don't study this poem, you may study something similar and this is a very good poem to explore.
EllyJ -
this is a really good poem, we're studying it in English at the moment
-
oldpoetry.com/author/Ivor%20Gurney
Ivor Gurney died in 1937. this link will give you more information about this man, perhaps it will give you a better understanding of his poetry.
Von
Oldpoetry Team
-
this poem is totally amazing!!!!! i love it to bits expecially because it RHYMES!!! i hope that there are more poems like this one!!!!! ,holly,
-
i love this poem very very much.
i to like the way it rhymes it is realy good
-
i realy love this poem, i like your choice in words and i think it realy shows a bit of what the war would have been like.
I JUST REALY CANT GET OVER THE RHYMING BIT
XXXXXXXX ITS FANTASTIC XXXXXXXXX -
i realy like this poem.
i like the choice of words and the way it rhymes is realy good -
Cleary, some of these people that posted habe no intelligence to the poem, cos it really doesnt show anything about the war, it shows a perspective, of someone who appears to be, in a sinario, where it is either him or him,and one of them has to die, and when one does die all these thoughts come, like what if he was her only son, and it represents how awful the war was because no matter if they shouted or did anything, someone WAS going to die.
-
this is a great poem and shows a lot about the war
-
i've got to write something about this in english comparin it to spring offensive so the above comments arent all that helpful!
i'd say that there is a good repeatitive use of rhymin couplets and the year in which t was written suggests it was a desparate time for both sides but i believe at this point the germans were winning! the four line stanzas, together with the prediactsable rhymin couplets shows that it is in ballad form and could be sung. -
I liked it~ good job!!!
-
I like this piece, the ryhming is awesome!!!! I really loved your choice of words in this one, it was great. And yay for me, I was the first one to find and comment on this piece, or so I think I am. This really is a very cool and original piece, at least it seems so for me, but I really liked it. Muchas amor, Mandy
Adding your comment:
1 - 16 of 16
