‘Glad that I Killed Yer’

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: TO ANALYSE THE TOPIC, LANGUAGE AND STYLE OF JOSEPH LEE’S POEM 14th May 2015Fact File:

• from Dundee, Scotland.

• He was 40 and suffered from terrible asthma when he enlisted in

the war.• Was taken as

a prisoner of war in

Germany

DO NOW

Joseph Lee was late to join the war effort and came from a very humble working-class family.

He never wanted to be a poet or even be recognised as a literary figure. His poems are simple.

Where can we see proof of this in his poem?

Before we read, make 3 columns down the side of your page

TOPIC LANGUAGE STYLE

Lee starts this poem off with a bible verse. What might thistell us?

Hear my voice ; hearken unto my speech : For I have slain a man. — Genesis iv. 23.

Answer in your book

What has Lee described here?

Glad that I killed yer — It was you or me a Our bayonets locked, b And then I pulled mine free ; a My heart beat like to burst ; c But Gawd, I got in first- c Glad that I killed yer !

ABACC rhyme scheme.

What kind of rhyme scheme do we see?

Regular or irregular?

Do you think Lee is showing aggression or remorse for his actions in his stanza?

Glad that I killed yer — You're my enemy ; I had to hate — And you — you hated me ; You mightn't be to blame — I killed yer just the same — Glad that I killed yer !

Lee’s use of personal pronouns makes it seem his poem is a direct

address to an enemy soldier.

Answer in your book

We start to sympathise with Lee as an audience because he shows regret for taking another life senselessly. He implies the other soldier would have done the same to him; this shows the absurd war was.

Glad that I killed yer —

That's the game o' war ; But for my luck I'd lie just like you are ;

Your blood is on my hand — Surely you understand I had to kill yer?

Second time Lee has mentioned the enemy soldier’s blood on his hands ….

Metaphor: does Lee use it to convey the same

meaning as Jessie Pope?

What do you think Lee means when he writes the last 2 lines?

Glad that I killed yer — Yet I can't forget

The look you gave me When we turned — and met —

Why do you follow me with staring eye ? Was it so difficult a thing to die — Gawd ! when I killed yer ?

What emotion does Lee express here?

Emotive language: Lee is still haunted by this killing

It has been debated whether ‘Glad I Killed Yer’ was a regretful or proud poem.Some think that the repetition of the title is darkly sarcastic, and that Lee really was showing his disdain for the pointless destruction of war.

Write whether you think Lee’s poem is regretful or proud.

Using at least 3 pieces of language analysis evidence, support your point in a full PEE

paragraph.

Homework Finish your essay on ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ for Tuesday’s lesson.

Reminder: Assessment week begins the week after half-term. Question: Compare how Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est and Jessie Pope’s ‘The Call’ present the poets’ thoughts and feelings on war.