Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Theme:
Five Ways to Kill a Man focuses on the loss of humanity in man with every passing era. The poem describes
the methods used by man to kill other men for his own selfish motives. The first stanza talks about the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the second is about the medieval age, the third and fourth stanzas talk about the First
and Second World War, respectively. The poet wants to convey a message through this poem. He wants to say
that man has become devoid of emotions and sympathy. Man has developed newer scientific methods which has
made killing easier and faster. People kill one another, physically or mentally to survive in the world today.
Children are dying of hunger, malnutrition and diseases. People have to endure pain in order to survive and
therefore, they are dying a slow death. Thus, the poem wants to highlight the fact that though man acquired new
methods to discover, create but the basic human tendency to kill remain unchanged.
Form and Language:
The poem is composed in free verse with no end rhyming scheme. The descriptions of the ways of killing a man
are chronologically arranged. Each stanza depicts one possible way to kill a man. Every stanza except the last
stanza consists of run-on lines. Run-on lines suggest that the rhythm does not conform to any structure and is
free flowing.
The poem is written in a simple language to describe the different ways to kill a man. The words are used cold
and blunt. The words used to describe the crucifixion of Christ depict the lack of humanity and emotionless
nature of man.
Allusion:
There are several allusions in the poem, Five Ways to Kill a Man.
The first stanza of the poem alludes to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is done by describing the method by
which Jesus was crucified. He was forced to carry a plank of wood up to Golgotha hill. On the way, a big
hostile crowd accompanied him and humiliated him. He was tortured and nailed to the cross where he
eventually died.
The second stanza refers to the Wars of Roses to illustrate how wars were fought for the sake of crown and
honour during the medieval age.
The third stanza refers to gas warfare in the First World War.
The fourth stanza refers to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in August
1945, by the USA.
Poetical Devices:
Alliteration: The examples of the alliteration are as follows,*cock that crows
*hammer the nails home
*mile of mud
*black boots
*small switch
*much more
Assonance: Example of assonance is:
*bows and arrows
Personification: ..if the wind allows, blow gas at him is an example of fine personification in the poem.
Hyperbole: and attempt to pierce the metal cage he wears is an example of a hyperbole to define the cruel acts
of killing a man.
What does the poem "Five Ways to Kill a Man" by Edwin Brock
say about the survival of the human race?
The poem is called "Five Ways to Kill a Man" by Edwin Brock.
1This poem is filled with irony. The author refers to several kinds of "warfare."
First he refers to the crucifixion of Christ (plank of wood, cock that crows, and a hill, etc.).
Next, he refers to the killing of knights during the medieval period (length of steel, metal cage he wears, and a
castle, etc.).
The third stanza refers to World War I (gas, rats, and a dozen songs), while the fourth stanza refers to World War
II (the atomic bomb and Hitlerthe psychopath).
Through the entire "timeline" of the poem, the author talks about these "cumbersome" ways of killing, while
paradoxically each stanza shows advancements in more sophisticated ways to kill.
However, the pivotal point in the poem is found with the final stanza. It reiterates that all the prior methods
listed are cumbersome. This is a surprise, not for the first several stanzas, but it is for the stanza on World War
II: when advanced technology had created an atomic bomb that brought about Japan's surrender.
The final irony is the author's message that advancements in technology provide no better way for killing: the
best way to kill, he pro ports, is to leave mankind to its own devices. By doing so, men will kill themselves in
the way they live during the most advanced age known to man, the twentieth century. In other words, when
mankind should have the most answers to avoid war, without any help the human race will "self-destruct."
2I would say that this poem is pretty pessimistic about the human race's chances for long term survival. The
poet is saying that (in his day) it is so easy to kill people that a person living in his time is pretty much as good
as dead.
The poet goes over how killing people has changed since the time of Christ. As he points out, we are getting
better and better at killing people. It used to be difficult to do, but now it is getting easier and easier to the point
where all it takes is the press of a button.
Because killing people is getting so much easier, the poet seems to fear for the survival of the human race in the
long term
Do you find the poem "Five Ways to Kill a Man" to be realistic or pessimistic in tone?
1I would have to vote for "pessimistic" regarding this poem.
In the first four stanzas, the poem describes several ways of killing a man: crucifixion, lancing, gassing, and
bombing.
To me, the stanza about bombing is especially frightening, because all it requires is the "pressing [of] one small
switch." It is so impersonal that there is no reason to believe that the bomber has any feelings of anger or hatred
toward you.
The last stanza, of course, seals the pessimism: