281. The Death of a Soldier

Life contracts and death is expected,

As in a season of autumn.

The soldier falls.



He does not become a three-days personage,

Imposing his separation,

Calling for pomp.



Death is absolute and without memorial,

As in a season of autumn,

When the wind stops,



When the wind stops and, over the heavens,

The clouds go, nevertheless,

In their direction.



Wallace Stevens

-This poem has no rhyme, but that does not mean there isn't a certain rhythm to it. I think that the poem's structure has a lot to do with the significance of its meaning. The poem is about the expectance of the death of a soldier and how it affects few people. The poem does not have rhyme and the stanzas are short and simple, however this reflects the death of a soldier. Their burials are not littered with ornate pomp, and they are very cut and dry, however this should not take away from the very personal side of their death, in that they were human too. I think that the speaker of the poem is Stevens however and he is trying to make a personal statement of the value we place on the lives of soldiers.

-One literary devices Stevens uses is repetition. The lines "as in a season of autumn" and "when the wind stops" are both used twice. I think that one reason Steven's may use repetition in the poem and especially these two lines is that a soldier's death is commonly expected. Soldiers risk their lives for that which they fight for, however because of their choice and the dangers that are included with it, we have come to regard their deaths as just another one of the many. Just as the season of autumn will repeat from year to year so will the death of soldiers. The repetition of "when the wind stops" may have been used for dramatic effect. Using the line back to back emphasizes the stillness of the world as "the clouds go... in their direction."

The diction Stevens uses is also very interesting. In the first line the use of "contracts" I interpreted to mean that, as a soldier, with each passing day your life expectancy decreases; their life is slowly contracting and seceding from their grasp. The use of the season autumn is also significant and symbolic. Autumn is the season where life in nature begins to die, as winter moves in. In autumn the leaves fall from the trees and this leads me to the next interesting word the poet uses... falls in "the soldier falls". This compares a soldier to a leaf, and just as leaves fall every autumn, so do soldiers fall on a daily basis. By comparing soldiers to leaves it really does emphasize the author's opinion on the value we place on life in society.

-I liked this poem despite how troubled I was about its message. I think that in today's society we do not hold life with such high value, not only for soldiers but for anyone. Although I am sick to think that human life has become so devalued I cannot deny its apparent truth. Steven's life spanned both WWI and WWII and from the opinion presented in the poem, it seems as if he was deeply connected with fallen soldiers, and angered by their treatment at one point. The poem paints a depressing picture of taking soldier's lives for granted even though they are the ones risking their lives for the protection of our country.
As a side note this poem's perspective of a soldier's death as just another daily happening reminded me of 117. Apparently with no surprise by Emily Dickinson, a poem we read earlier.