Public Poetry

[stacilee12]

Shock

Comments

It's disappointing that this kind of public poetry is necessary.

[nareesas]

This, like most (if not all) of the other epitaphs, is extremely sad. The repetition of "my" makes the extent of his loss greater. The soldier loses his identity as well as his family which is almost the same as dying. The fact that he suffers and his family has to go through the anguish of realizing that the soldier is shell shocked is intensified when it's revealed that he dies after all of that suffering. His mother's death shows a shock other than shell shock. The state of her son was too much to bear and she dies. The only consolation is that they are all reunited with their memories and each other in death. The poem will resonate with many, many families and that adds to the sobering effect.

[spaczek_27]

In my opinion the title of this piece may have to do with the shock that death can bring. When someone dies suddenly and tragically it can often leave the family in a state of shock and they are often unprepared. Especially during a time of war, young men and women with long lives ahead of them would return home in body bags. I think that this title can be used in a broad sense. I am not quite sure if this is the same idea that you had but I thought I would give my opinion anyways.

Shock

[pitchgreen]

In Pat Barker's "Regeneration" there is a horrible scene where one spychiatrist tries to use "shock" therapy to cure a "shell shocked" patient who had gone dumb

Public Family

[mysteryofgod]

I liked your expostulation on the use of family in this poem. I think that this poem is interesting as an example of public poetry because it uses the topic of something seemingly private, family. The picture I think that Kipling is portraying is one that shatters another picture presented at the time. Family was seen as a perfect operating unit. However, this poem shows that sometimes the child dies before the parent and that family may not be as perfect as it seems.