Grenadier; Poetry Circles

GRENADIER

The Queen she sent to look for me,
The sergeant he did say,
`Young man, a soldier will you be
For thirteen pence a day?'

For thirteen pence a day did I
Take off the things I wore,
And I have marched to where I lie,
And I shall march no more.

My mouth is dry, my shirt is wet,
My blood runs all away,
So now I shall not die in debt
For thirteen pence a day.

To-morrow after new young men
The sergeant he must see,
For things will all be over then
Between the Queen and me.

And I shall have to bate my price,
For in the grave, they say,
Is neither knowledge nor device
Nor thirteen pence a day.

A. E. Housman

1. How does this poem make you feel? What emotions do you feel when you read it?
Its sad because the Queen is paying people money so that they will go to war and fight, which could have been legal back in those days, but the men already had the choice to go to war and they obviously chose not to, so a way to get more people to go to war the Queen would pay them so that they can fight for their country.
2. What is the poem about?
Its about a man asking a young man if he will become a soldier for 13pence a day, it also says that he will not die in debt, the young man could be in debt and by going to war he could pay of his debt.The Queen is also paying men to go to war and fight for their country when they might have not wanted to go, but could not afford to pass up an opportunity to earn some money, maybe because they were poor or maybe because they had a family to support and they didnt have a very good job, otherwise they might not have chosen to go to war for 13 pence a day.

3. List some of the descriptive words the poet uses and explain why they are effective.

"My mouth is dry, my shirt is wet"

4. Why do you think the poet wrote this poem? What was he/she trying to achieve?
I think the poet was trying to tell people that the queen paid people small amounts of money for them to go to war, and even if you are payed to fight, that theres still that risk of dieing or being injured there and just because you've been paid doesnt mean you have immunity to not get hurt, theres a higher chance that you would have gotten hurt.


Does the poem rhyme?
Yes the poem does rhyme.


7. If the poem rhymes how do you think this adds to the overall effect of the poem?
I think it makes the poem more catchy, and then i can remember what it is about more.


9. Did you like this poem? Explain why.
The poem was interesting in the way the poet tried to get across to the reader about the Queen who used to pay people so that they could go and fight in the war just for 13 pence.


10.Does the poem create an image in you head? If yes, describe what you see in your mind. You may draw a picture to show what you see if you prefer.
It creates an image in my head about some man working for the Queen going to ask this young man to see if he will fight for his country for 13pence a day to pay of his debt.