The Man He Killed
by Thomas Hardy
a poem
written 1902
published in Collected Poems of Thomas Hardy, Page 263
by London: Macmillan & Co., Limited, 1923
ADVERTISEMENT
Free Thomas Hardy Audiobook
Listen to Thomas Hardy’s “The Man He Killed”
The Man He Killed
July 18, 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
thus, we begin...
“ Had he and I but met By some old ancient inn, We should have sat us down to wet Right many a nipperkin ! “ But ranged as infantry, And staring face to face, I shot at him as he at me, And killed him in his place. “ I shot him dead because— Because he was my foe, Just so : my foe of course he was; That’s clear enough ; although “ He thought he’d ‘list, perhaps, Off-hand like—just as I— Was out of work—had sold his traps— No other reason why. “ Yes ; quaint and curious war is ! You shoot a fellow down You’d treat if met where any bar is, Or help to half-a-crown.”
Leave a Comment
Comment on Thomas Hardy’s “The Man He Killed”
By clicking the "SEND COMMENT" button and submitting a comment to this website, you are agreeing to the terms set forth on the Legal page. Do not submit your comment to this website if you do not agree to these terms.
Currently, we are manually approving all new comments. Once we approve your first comment, you should be able to post with the same email without needing moderation.