Home they brought her warrior dead
Summary
This poem by Alfred Tennyson is about the story of a widow who has just received
the body of her husband, who seems to have been a soldier and was wounded in a
war. The widow’s maidens weep profusely but later get worried when the widow is
shell-shocked and cannot emote any sorrow. The maidens devise ways to make her
weep but fail. Finally, she weeps but not of sorrow and that of fear instead- the fear
of raising her child all alone.
Poetic Devices
1. Inversion: Also known as “anastrophe,” is a literary technique in which the
normal order of words is reversed, in order to achieve a particular effect.
Example- Home They Brought Her Warrior Dead
2. Repetition: Repetition is a literary device in which a word or phrase is
repeated two or more times. Example- She nor swooned, nor uttered a cry:
3. Oxymoron: An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which a pair of opposite or
contradictory terms is used together for emphasis. Example- Truest friend
and noblest foe;
4. Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison
between two things by using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. Example- Like summer
tempest came her tears –
Let’s answer | Remember and answer
1. (a) Her husband died in battle, fighting for his country.
(c) Grief needs to be expressed. The widow was not reacting or expressing her
sorrow. The maidens thought that bottling her feelings up would kill the widow.
e) The people present at the gathering called him worthy to be loved, the ‘truest
friend’ and ‘noblest foe’. They praised him so that the widow would cry over his
death and let her sorrow out.
(f) In order to make the widow cry, one of the maidens removed the cloth that was
covering the warrior’s face.
(g) Her child, whom an old nurse placed on the widow’s lap, made her cry.
RTC
B. i. It means ‘moved away quietly and left the place’.
iv. The woman’s tears are described as the ‘summer tempest’. She looked at the
child and remembered her husband. The fact that the child would never see the
father again brought tears of sorrow to the surface. She realised she had to live for
the sake of the child and raise him/her all by herself.
Think and answer
1. The poem sheds light on the impact of the aftermath of a soldier’s death on his
family. The poem portrays the widow’s struggle to come to terms with her
husband’s death and the emotional turmoil she has to go through. Her reaction to
his death is complex. Ranging from disbelief to no reaction to the situation or
future, to helplessness and sorrow and to breaking down with tears that feel like a
tempest—she goes through a range of emotions and feelings.
2. The widow felt nothing when she saw her dead husband—Such was the deep
impact of trauma. The others feared that she might die if she would not express her
feelings. However, she did not care. It was only when she physically saw her child
that she broke down in tears, realising that she would need to live in order to raise
her child in the absence of her husband. The sight of her child revived her desire to
live.
4. It is a tribute to the dead warrior. It means that to those who knew him, he was a
true friend—loyal and trustworthy. To his enemies, he was a formidable opponent
in battle. He was honourable and chivalrous, who fought with valour and respect
for his enemy. It is a testament to his character and his legacy.
