Robert Southey's poem 'After Blenheim’ illustrates the theme that war, though being pointless and

brutal, affects everyone. The poem is set at the site of the 'Battle of Blenheim (1704)'. It is narrated in
the form of questions of small children and about a skull one of them has found. An old man tells his
grandchildren about the burnt homes, civil causalities and rotting corpses, while repeatedly referring to
the poem as a 'famous victory.'

In the poem, Kaspar stands for the old school of people who believed undoubtedly, whatever was told
to them by their elders. He had heard people referring to the war as a 'famous' or 'great* victory. He
t<M) has come to believe it and rejects the doubts of his grand children who question him about how
could such a destructive war be a 'great victory*. Thus, the poet wishes to emphasize through repetition
of the line that it was a great victory. This tells that Kaspar belongs to the group of those people who
have positive notions about war and who feel proud at the victory achieved during war, ignoring the
harm caused by it.
The message conveyed by Robert Southey in this poem is that, ordinary people, like Kaspar themselves,
fall victim to the havoc caused by war and glorify war instead of poising its validity. But through the
grand children, the poet presents new ideas which are based on analytical thinking and questioning. The
poet has conveyed an anti-war message. It is a protest against the heroic ideals of war.

The poem disapproves of any war as it brings with itself death, devastation, loss and grief. The poet
conveys that great victories are rendered useless when everything else is lost.
The poem is relevant as it has a universal appeal. The poem is timeless and can be read irrespective of
the time it was written. It is the common man and innocent children who suffer in a war. Modern
politicians dismiss the deaths of innocent people in war by referring to them with the impersonal
phrase: collateral damage.

Small Pain in My Chest by Michael Mack is a deeply moving poem written in ballad form about a dying
soldier. This poem was read during the funeral of the first Blackhawk Helicopter pilot who was shot
down in Iraq. This poem is also read during Vietnam Veterans Meetings. The poem is written in ballad
form which is a poem written in a song and story format and vividly makes the listeners and readers
reflect on the tragic theme. The title is an ironical one. The soldier repeatedly says that he has a small
pain in his chest. But he finally died of his injury that he received at the battle. The poem reveals the
anti-war attitude of the poet Michael Mack.
The poem is written in very simple language. It consists of nine stanza of four lines each. It follows a
regular rhyme scheme with longer lines. Apart from the first stanza, the last two lines of each stanza
have same rhyme pattern, and all the eight stanzas end with the phrase 'small pain in my chest* with a
couple of slight variations.
Death follows a soldier at every step of the way in the battlefield. Yet a valiant soldier lumbers on,
braving the enemy bullets and the injuries to his body. Death often comes slowly inflicting excruciating
pain on the wounded solitary soldier. As the Sun sets in his life, he finds no one to bring him succor or
solace. Finally, he breathes his last.
But, the gutsy soldier dies for a cause - the call to defend his country. Some unflinching steadfast
soldiers, the refusal of their limbs to continue fighting brings lament and remorse. In the present case,
what hurt the dying soldier more is the fear that his mother and wife could assume that he is capitulated
before the enemy before shedding the last drop of blood.