Show:
Time/Place
Word Choice
Organizations
Connections
100
20th-century warfare, as evidenced by the Gatling guns.
When did the war in this poem take place and why do you say that?
100
Blood staining the battleground.
What is "the river of death"?
100
Describing a cricket match.
What is the purpose of the first stanza?
100
In cricket, substitutes are called up replace injured players. We can infer that the author wants to tell us when your comrades die, it's up to you to carry the torch of life and fight like they did.
Why does the author use cricket as an analogy to warfare?
200
A desert.
What biome did this war take place in?
200
In the first stanza, the captain of the cricket team strikes the player firmly on the shoulder, encouraging him to get up and play the game.
How is the word "smote" used in the first stanza of the poem?
200
Describing the battlefield and its conditions.
What is the purpose of the second stanza?
200
The bearing of the torch. In relays, when one person has finished his part of the race, then he will pass the totem to another person. In the same way, when a soldier has finished fighting his part, it is up to his comrades to exhibit the same bravery and courage to fight.
What is the reference to the Olympics in this poem?
300
A cricket match.
What is the setting of the first stanza of the poem?
300
Honor is but a name in warfare because many people join the army to be labeled as heroes fighting for their country. However, there is no honor in war, as the reader discovers. There is only ruthless killing.
The second stanza has the line: "And England's far, and Honour a name." Why does the author describe honor as being a name?
300
To use a cricket match as a metaphor for warfare.
What is the purpose of the third stanza?
300
Some tasks are easy to agree to if there are obvious benefits, but when you actually get around to doing them, you realize that the thing is so much more complicated. For example, taking AP Biology in 10th grade paints you as an excellent student, but when you take the course, it might be too hard for you if you are underprepared.
How is "Honor a name" in real life?
400
If something is sodden, it is saturated with liquid, especially water; however, in the poem the sand is saturated with blood.
What does the word "sodden" mean in the poem?
400
"Play up! play up! and play the game!"
What is the recurring line in all three stanzas of the poem?
400
Whatever you experience, hold fast and preserve. Continue surviving; don't succumb to your emotions. Be a man and play the game.
What is the significance of 'Play up! play up! and play the game'?
500
They all identify a specific situation and proceed to describe it (brushstrokes).
What is the recurring theme in the first two sentences of all three stanzas?