SLM – General English (Sem VI)
Unit IV
Strange Meeting
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen was a promising British poet who was killed in action a week before the First
World War (1914 – 1918) ended. He was known for his criticism of the cruelty of war and
his advocacy for its victims. His poetry represented the war as a tragic and pitiful experience
and portrayed the horrors of trench warfare and chemical weapons in contrast to the
contemporary perception of war as glorious and honourable. Owen, along with Siegfried
Sassoon and Rupert Brooke, was one of the most vocal critics of war. Some of his most well-
known poems are Dulce et Decorum Est, Anthem for Doomed Youth and Insensibility.
Owen once said, ‗My study is War and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.‘ This is true
of the poem Strange Meeting. The soldier-speaker descends to ‗Hell‘ where he meets the
enemy soldier whom he had killed in battle the previous day. The dead soldier is sad because
he cannot tell the world the truth about war; the truth if revealed could bring about healing
and cure. The poem focuses on horrifying acts of war and calls for such violence and
savagery to be replaced with peace and harmony. Owen questions the purpose of war while
reflecting on its tragic outcomes and criticises the loss of innocent lives.
The poem begins with the speaker trying recollect where he is. He feels like he escaped from
battle and proceeds down a long tunnel through ancient granite formations. Along his way he
hears the groan of sleepers, either dead or too full of thoughts to get up. As he looks at them
one leaps up; the soldier has recognized him and moves his hands as if to bless him. Because
of the soldier's ‗dead smile‘ the speaker knows that he is in Hell.
On the face of the ‗vision‘ the speaker sees a thousand fears; but the blood, guns, or moans of
above did not reach into their subterranean retreat. The speaker tells the soldier that there is
no reason to mourn, and he replies that there is – it is the ‗undone years‘ and ‗hopelessness‘.
The soldier says his hope is the same as the speaker's; he also tells him he once went hunting
for beauty in the world, but that beauty made a mockery of time. He knows the truth of what
he did, which is ‗the pity of war, the pity war distilled‘, but now he can never share it.
The soldier/vision continues, saying men will go on with what is left to them, or they will die
as well. They will not break their ranks even though ‗nations trek from progress‘. He used to
have courage and wisdom. He would wash the blood from the wheels of chariots. He wanted
to pour his spirit out, but not in war. Finally, he says to the speaker that ‗I am the enemy you
killed, my friend,‘ and that he knew him in the dark. It was yesterday that the speaker ‗jabbed
and killed‘ him, and now it is time to sleep.
Strange Meeting is a poem about war, but it doesn't focus on heroic deeds or grand victories.
, Instead, the poem treats war as horrifying, wasteful, and dehumanizing; in the words of the
enemy soldier, it presents the ―pity of war distilled.‖ According to the poem, war destroys the
landscape in which it‘s fought; it erodes the natural solidarity between human beings, turning
people who might be friends into mortal enemies; and it robs the soldiers who fight of their
capacity to speak truth. What's more, the trauma of war lingers even after the battle is over.
The poem presents a pretty bleak view of human society, which seems unwilling to stop
fighting. Yet the poem also presents violence as something that people decide to engage in—
rather than something innate to human beings. The two soldiers at the heart of the poem
might very well have been friends in different circumstances. They even share the same
hopes and dreams: "Whatever hope is yours, / Was my life also," the enemy soldier
proclaims.
By illustrating their shared humanity, the poem suggests that war creates division. The enemy
soldier forgives the speaker in death and says they both can rest now suggests that
reconciliation and solidarity might be a sort of antidote to the horrors of war.
The Piece of String
Guy de Maupassant
Guy de Maupassant, a French author, is considered one of the greatest short story writers of
all times. Maupassant‘s writings often focus on everyday lives of ordinary people, portraying
their struggles, desires and flaws with keen observation and psychological insight. His stories
are characterized by their economy of language, vivid descriptions and surprising twists.
Many of his works explore themes such as the human condition, morality, and the
consequences of greed and ambition. Some of his famous stories include The Necklace, Boule
de Suif and The Piece of String.
The story, The Piece of String, is set in a small French village. The protagonist Maitre
Hauchecorne, an elderly peasant, while walking to the market picks up a stray piece of string
which leads to him being accused of stealing a wallet. Despite his protests, Hauchecorne is
blamed by the rest of the village. Hauchecorne‘s despair at this false accusation finally leads
to his agonising death. Maupassant uses the incident of the lost wallet to explore the deeper
truths about human nature. He also examines how the character, reputation and survival of
even an honest man is dependent on the goodwill and support of the community.
The story begins in a bustling marketplace in the village of Goderville, where peasants gather
to buy and sell goods. Among them is Maître Hauchecorne, an old Norman farmer, who
notices a piece of string lying on the ground. Believing it might be helpful, he bends down to
pick it up. However, his actions are observed by Maître Malandain, a former enemy.
Unit IV
Strange Meeting
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen was a promising British poet who was killed in action a week before the First
World War (1914 – 1918) ended. He was known for his criticism of the cruelty of war and
his advocacy for its victims. His poetry represented the war as a tragic and pitiful experience
and portrayed the horrors of trench warfare and chemical weapons in contrast to the
contemporary perception of war as glorious and honourable. Owen, along with Siegfried
Sassoon and Rupert Brooke, was one of the most vocal critics of war. Some of his most well-
known poems are Dulce et Decorum Est, Anthem for Doomed Youth and Insensibility.
Owen once said, ‗My study is War and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.‘ This is true
of the poem Strange Meeting. The soldier-speaker descends to ‗Hell‘ where he meets the
enemy soldier whom he had killed in battle the previous day. The dead soldier is sad because
he cannot tell the world the truth about war; the truth if revealed could bring about healing
and cure. The poem focuses on horrifying acts of war and calls for such violence and
savagery to be replaced with peace and harmony. Owen questions the purpose of war while
reflecting on its tragic outcomes and criticises the loss of innocent lives.
The poem begins with the speaker trying recollect where he is. He feels like he escaped from
battle and proceeds down a long tunnel through ancient granite formations. Along his way he
hears the groan of sleepers, either dead or too full of thoughts to get up. As he looks at them
one leaps up; the soldier has recognized him and moves his hands as if to bless him. Because
of the soldier's ‗dead smile‘ the speaker knows that he is in Hell.
On the face of the ‗vision‘ the speaker sees a thousand fears; but the blood, guns, or moans of
above did not reach into their subterranean retreat. The speaker tells the soldier that there is
no reason to mourn, and he replies that there is – it is the ‗undone years‘ and ‗hopelessness‘.
The soldier says his hope is the same as the speaker's; he also tells him he once went hunting
for beauty in the world, but that beauty made a mockery of time. He knows the truth of what
he did, which is ‗the pity of war, the pity war distilled‘, but now he can never share it.
The soldier/vision continues, saying men will go on with what is left to them, or they will die
as well. They will not break their ranks even though ‗nations trek from progress‘. He used to
have courage and wisdom. He would wash the blood from the wheels of chariots. He wanted
to pour his spirit out, but not in war. Finally, he says to the speaker that ‗I am the enemy you
killed, my friend,‘ and that he knew him in the dark. It was yesterday that the speaker ‗jabbed
and killed‘ him, and now it is time to sleep.
Strange Meeting is a poem about war, but it doesn't focus on heroic deeds or grand victories.
, Instead, the poem treats war as horrifying, wasteful, and dehumanizing; in the words of the
enemy soldier, it presents the ―pity of war distilled.‖ According to the poem, war destroys the
landscape in which it‘s fought; it erodes the natural solidarity between human beings, turning
people who might be friends into mortal enemies; and it robs the soldiers who fight of their
capacity to speak truth. What's more, the trauma of war lingers even after the battle is over.
The poem presents a pretty bleak view of human society, which seems unwilling to stop
fighting. Yet the poem also presents violence as something that people decide to engage in—
rather than something innate to human beings. The two soldiers at the heart of the poem
might very well have been friends in different circumstances. They even share the same
hopes and dreams: "Whatever hope is yours, / Was my life also," the enemy soldier
proclaims.
By illustrating their shared humanity, the poem suggests that war creates division. The enemy
soldier forgives the speaker in death and says they both can rest now suggests that
reconciliation and solidarity might be a sort of antidote to the horrors of war.
The Piece of String
Guy de Maupassant
Guy de Maupassant, a French author, is considered one of the greatest short story writers of
all times. Maupassant‘s writings often focus on everyday lives of ordinary people, portraying
their struggles, desires and flaws with keen observation and psychological insight. His stories
are characterized by their economy of language, vivid descriptions and surprising twists.
Many of his works explore themes such as the human condition, morality, and the
consequences of greed and ambition. Some of his famous stories include The Necklace, Boule
de Suif and The Piece of String.
The story, The Piece of String, is set in a small French village. The protagonist Maitre
Hauchecorne, an elderly peasant, while walking to the market picks up a stray piece of string
which leads to him being accused of stealing a wallet. Despite his protests, Hauchecorne is
blamed by the rest of the village. Hauchecorne‘s despair at this false accusation finally leads
to his agonising death. Maupassant uses the incident of the lost wallet to explore the deeper
truths about human nature. He also examines how the character, reputation and survival of
even an honest man is dependent on the goodwill and support of the community.
The story begins in a bustling marketplace in the village of Goderville, where peasants gather
to buy and sell goods. Among them is Maître Hauchecorne, an old Norman farmer, who
notices a piece of string lying on the ground. Believing it might be helpful, he bends down to
pick it up. However, his actions are observed by Maître Malandain, a former enemy.
