The Death of a soldier Wallace Stevens

The poem focuses on the idea that the death of a solider is an uncelebrated event, this could be due to the large numbers of deaths that occurred during the time of the war.
A main area of focus is the simile 'As in a season of summer' this reiterates how they believe death is as inevitable as the falling of leaves and the change in seasons throughout the years as there is no doubt they will  occur.
Time is important throughout this poem.
'Life contracts' could be used to imply how life shortens  throughout the war in the lead up to their inevitable deaths as the verb 'expected' shows the soldiers were fully aware of their position and that death was never far away from them.
'As in a season of Autumn' is repeated in stanzas 1 and 3 and can be used to represent the similarity between repetitive lives of soldiers as they were predictable just like the seasons of the year. As well as this It could be used to show the slow decrease in their life as it shortens day by day and is slow just like the changes between the seasons in the year.
'does not become a three day personnage'  the solider only had 3 days to express himself and make himself known on the front line, this reiterates the idea of only a short amount time between events.
'Death is absolute and without memorial' personification of death as if it is tangible
Presents how death is inevitable for the soldiers and is a forgettable and uncelebrated event. Also looks at philosophy and how as humans we cannot talk about what is beyond life as we have no real knowledge of it due to us not having experienced it.
'when the wind stops' this imagery could be used to represent when a solider dies due to it being inevitable and a regular occurrence. '...and over the heavens' this could represent how death is a quick and forgettable event as it is only a quick passing over a short period of time. 'The clouds go nevertheless' Death is similar to clouds moving overhead as it moves on quickly and is forgotten about.

The poems structure is 4 short, 3 line stanzas, each ending with a short line cut off as if a solider had died as it was quick but then the start of the next stanza represents how the war would still continue.

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