Yes;+quaint+and+curious+war+is!

==== In Thomas Hardy's "The Man He Killed", it isn't until the last stanza of the poem that the reader is finally given the reason why the narrator has shot a man dead. This was a mistery until then. In the second stanza the narrartor tells the reader, "I shot at him as he at me, And killed him in his place." At that point it is clear that he killed his "foe", but there is still no explanation as to why they are fighting. Hardy does not even show a conflict between the two men, they just start to shoot for no reason. In the first line of the last stanza the narrator says, "Yes; quaint and curious war is!" with that line the reader is told the reason why he was fighting the man he killed; he was in a war. In the next three lines Hardy comments on the concept of war, saying that if you met somebody that you killed in battle anywhere else you might have become friends which to me is a very mind opening notion. Thomas Hardy keeps the reason why he killed a man a secret until the very last stanza which makes the poem very misterious. Once the reason he killed the man is exposed, he makes the point that war is a very strange idea. He also points out that one could kill another man that if he met anywhere else, he could have, "helped to half a crown." This is an idea that is definetly going through the minds of soldiers everyday, but for most people it is an idea that you never would even think of exploring. This poem brings this concept to many peoples attention, and it undoubtedly has changed views towards war. ==== 



