Death of the Soldier

Death of the Soldier [1923]

Wallace Stevens (1879-1955 )

Life contracts and death is expected,

As in a season of autumn.

The soldier falls.

He does not become a three-days personage,

Imposing his separation,

Calling for pomp.

Death is absolute and without memorial,

As in a season of autumn,

When the wind stops,

When the wind stops and, over the heavens,

The clouds go, nevertheless,

In their direction.

Questions for Discussion

1. Which choice is the best explanation for the word "falls" in line 3?

A) stumbles

B) dies

C) retreats

D) strikes

E) fails

2. Which word best describes the tone of the poem?

A) violent

B) angry

C) sentimental

D) somber

E) pompous

3. To which of the following does the poet compare death?

A) war

B) clouds

C) heaven

D) wind

E) autumn

4. Which statement best expresses one other central message of the poem?

A) Memorial ceremonies honoring dead soldiers are meaningless.

B) Most soldiers in active combat expect to die heroically.

C) History proves that war is brutal and senseless.

D) Death is a part of a natural cycle and an expected condition of war.

E) Whenever a soldier dies, the wind stops blowing.

5. The poet wrote this poem after his mother's death; however, he was writing about a new kind of death being experienced on the battlefields of World War I in 1915.

Based on this information and the poem, what can you infer was the poet's attitude about the soldier's death?

It was

A) completely justified in war time

B) worthy of a nation's sorrow

C) natural that he died for his country

D) acceptable in modern society

E) unnatural in cutting a life short

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