1837 War in Retrospect

1837 War in Retrospect informs readers of Susanna Moodie’s perspective on the

From the title, it allows readers to see that this poem is about reflecting and
contemplating the rebellion that took place in 1837. Beginning in the first stanza, by
using the word “I”, it transforms a typical poem to one of the personal level, as if the
poet is pouring their inner thoughts out to share with the world. This affects the
readers and intrigues them to see what has to follow. The first stanza ends with a
semi colon, which foreshadows that a list of some sort is to follow. However, the
semi colon seems to only apply to what is identified within the brackets of the
second stanza, and not what is outside of the bracket. Brackets show the thoughts of
Susanna Moodie, allowing readers to actually visualize and understand the events
occurring in this recollection. Specifically speaking, by comparing “mistakes” to
“parachutes” through the use of a simile, it delivers the message to readers that the
soldiers during this war think that parachutes will be able to protect them, and save
them from the mistakes they made in the past. Therefore, in the first two stanzas, it
is evident that punctuation definitely affects the way readers interpret the poem.

The third stanza, which is also the shortest stanza of this poem, consists of only two
lines: “is rolling itself up in your head at one end and unrolling at the other”. This can
be seen as a metaphor, depicting Susanna Moodie’s interpretation of history from
the past; the future should be improved by avoiding war, yet it only ends up being
repeated once again. In a way, it seems as if Moodie believes war is actually
inevitable. It should also be noted how the poem switches from “I” to “your”,
speaking directly to the readers. This change will further emphasize the message she
is trying to deliver in both the third and the fourth stanza, creating a longer lasting
visual for readers.

The fourth stanza starts with an allusion back to the 1837 Rebellion, and produces an
imagery for the readers as Susanna Moodie states, “those tiny ancestral figures
flickering dull white through the back of your skull”. This depicts a vague memory of
the war. Yet, because of the word “flickering”, it creates the motion that they are all
fading away, adding to the imagery. Technically, Susanna Moodie is indirectly
addressing to the death of all the soldiers sacrificed during the war. In addition, the
internal rhyme between the words “dull” and “skull”, which both has negative
connotation, reinforces the seriousness of death. In this stanza, Moodie reveals to
the readers how she is fully aware of Canada’s history even if she has no direct
connections, or feelings of attachment to it. Further more, the syntax of this stanza
reveals how Moodie is living in the present and looking back on the past, which
directly relates to the word ‘retrospect’, in the title of this poem.

The fifth stanza is full of imagery, depicting the supposedly soldiers that appear to be
ape-like. The diction, “idiot faces” and “bananas” give way to this image as “idiot”
show how the soldiers are extremely clueless while bananas indirectly alludes to
monkeys. Susanna Moodie is trying to relate soldiers to apes, implying how they do
not think for themselves and only copy what others do. This adds a twist to how
readers may perceive soldiers to be; perhaps only the bravery but not so much of
wisdom and thought in their actions. The last line in this stanza also takes a turn as
there is a transition from Susanna Moodie’s perspective of war to a child’s. This is
shown through the diction, as “scribble” forms a visual of a child’s unrecognizable
writing; in a way, it could also reveal how Moodie does not understand the purpose
behind this war.

The last stanza is the continuation of the 1837 War in the eyes of children. By using
‘children’, Moodie makes it seem as if the war was caused by insignificant reasons,
just as how children fight over rather small issues. In addition, “rough grey crayon
diagram” produces an imagery of not well controlled drawings, once again,
emphasizing how children’s ability to draw good diagrams are weak; hence, making
the diagram seem “rough” rather than smooth and appealing to the eye. The last
line, “made actual through a child’s fingers”, actually links the idea back and
reinforces readers that it is based on a child’s perspective of war. This also produces
a mocking tone for readers at the decision of going into war; after all, children do not
have the best judgments in the world. Nonetheless, this mocking may be because
English people, of where Susanna Moodie came from, are more sophisticated than
Canadians, and may see Canadians actions to be childish.

As a whole, this entire poem is a run-on sentence as the only period is evident in the
last stanza of the last line. Through this structure, it not only shows the complete
process and thoughts of Susanna Moodie’s reflections on the past, but also how the
poem is written in a stream of consciousness. After settling down and adapting to
her new home, there is evidence revealing how Moodie is still not familiar and hold
certain views against the Canadian soldiers.